MobilityMobilityEU aims to class Mobility scooters in the same catgory as a racing car EU aims to class Mobility scooters in the same catgory as a racing car
29/06/2009
Grant-giving charity Elizabeth Finn Care, along with The Mobility Bureau, are appealing for common sense this week, as the EU are set to make law a reclassification Regulation, which will see the European Union’s Customs Code Committee classify a mobility scooter in the same league as a Formula 1 racing car.
The move means that EU member states will have to impose a 10% import tax on the mobility scooters, a tax that many businesses will have to pass on to disabled consumers, who are amongst the poorest in society.
Professor Stephen Hawking, said, “ For many of us with disabilities, a mobility scooter is literally a life line – without it we are locked out further from the world around us. To tax the most disadvantaged in society in this way is simply disgraceful”.
With over 25,000 mobility scooters being bought each year by charities and individuals, the Government will be taking over £6 million pounds in tax from those who most need it.
It was only in 2007 that the EU imposed the opinion, albeit informally, themselves. The UK government then began claiming back the tax retrospectively from mobility scooter companies.
Jim Dooley, Chairman of The Mobility Bureau – which is the UK’s largest supplier of Mobility Scooter through charitable organisations, said: ‘Mobility scooter distributors have tried not to pass on the extra burden to consumers, but in these difficult times, it’s not always easy. Enshrining this reclassification in to law, binding the UK and other countries to this tax is just plain wrong. We have tried to get the UK government to fight our corner, but now it seems it's too late. It’s a real slap in the face for small businesses and the disabled.’
Bryan Clover, a Director at Elizabeth Finn Care, said: 'Our research shows that disabled adults are twice as likely to live in low-income households, and the gap has grown over the last decade.
"As a grant-giving charity, we often provide money for these scooters. Many individuals who need a mobility scooter are on a low- fixed-income, and will be liable for this tax, as will many of the small businesses that distribute these scooters. With the average scooter costing £2,500, and many disabled people already living in poverty - a 10% tax might not seem much for the MEP’s but, for many, every penny counts.'
The Customs Committee attended a demonstration of the scooters with legal representatives of mobility scooter companies last year. Not one person on the committee held a medical qualification or asked for a formal medical opinion.