Rural communities face transport hell under planned Taxi Tax, ministers warned

RURAL communities face transport hell if stung by a taxi tax, campaigners have warned.

Analysis shows vulnerable people living with poor bus and rail links will bear the brunt of the planned levy on private hire cabs. 

The Stop The Taxi Tax crusade is urging the Treasury to abandon proposals for 20 per cent VAT and is warning of a hammer blow to passengers. 

New YouGov polling now reveals two-thirds of voters fear the impact a taxi tax would have on the nation’s nine million rural residents. 

Tory MP Jonathan Gullis said: “A significant number of vulnerable people who live in well-populated areas still rely heavily on minicabs to get to loved ones in rural parts of the UK with poor public transport options, including in my constituency.

“Hitting them with the taxi tax makes no moral or economic sense at a time when the cost of living is already high.”

Kerry Booth from the Rural Services Network added that the levy would represent a “real blow” to otherwise disconnected communities. 

Gareth Cadwallader from the campaign said: “The Taxi Tax will leave a transport black hole in rural communities.

“Private hire vehicles and minicabs provide an essential service in rural communities and fill the gap left by the lack of public transport.”