Law Commission Report underestimates our earnings (big time)

captain cab · **Posted:** Fri May 11, 2012 4:27 pm

Dusty Bin wrote:

Note also that almost ten years ago the OFT claimed that industry turnover was £2.2 billion and that that was from consumer survey figures, so excluded income from business and tourist fares.

In fact I'd be interested to know how IBIS managed to come up with any kind of realistic figure for turnover/revenue at all.

OFT Report 2003

3.2 The taxi and PHV services market in the UK is large and growing with an annual turnover of at least £2.2 billion.

Turnover has risen 43 per cent in real terms since 1994, although turnover has fallen slightly in the last couple of years. Almost 60 per cent of people use a taxi or PHV at least once a year. We make, on average, 12 trips per person per year. Taxi and PHV use is also greatest amongst people in low income groups.

Those with incomes in the lowest 20 per cent make around 50 per cent more trips than across the population as a whole.

Spending on taxi and PHV services

3.10 Expenditure on taxi and PHV services by households in the UK was £2.2 billion in 2002.

Spending increased rapidly in the late 90s (by as much as 18 per cent in 1997) but has fallen in the last two years. The 2002 figure remains 43 per cent higher in real terms than that recorded in 1994.

3.11 Expenditure was greatest in London (almost 70 per cent higher per household than the UK as whole).

The other areas with above-average expenditure are generally in the UK regions with the lowest household incomes. Households in the North West, North East, Northern Ireland and Scotland all spend more than the UK average on taxis and PHVs.

captain cab · **Posted:** Fri May 11, 2012 4:51 pm

viewtopic.php?f=14&t=17213

The initial press release says £2.2 Billion in 2003.

CC

edders23 · **Posted:** Fri May 11, 2012 6:12 pm

Perhaps the law commissions figures aren't wrong perhaps the 1.4billion is the total tax take bearing in mind that probably less than a third of drivers actually declare their earnings ( based on the assumption that they are more honest in other parts of the country than here !)

MR T · **Joined:** Thu Sep 07, 2006 8:26 pm **Posts:** 8529

Maybe it's just the tax on diesel :wink:

captain cab · **Posted:** Fri May 11, 2012 7:43 pm

edders23 wrote:

Perhaps the law commissions figures aren't wrong perhaps the 1.4billion is the total tax take bearing in mind that probably less than a third of drivers actually declare their earnings ( based on the assumption that they are more honest in other parts of the country than here !)

Which makes the OFT report a crock?

We're talking nearly a £1 Billion quid......thats some huge error, especially considering the growth cited in the taxi and PH markets which were mentioned in the OFT report.

edders23 · **Posted:** Fri May 11, 2012 8:07 pm

well then perhaps a few drivers should ask the LC to clarify that point at the coventry show

TX11 CAB · **Joined:** Sat Jul 31, 2010 10:02 pm **Posts:** 73

Sussex wrote:

TX11 CAB wrote:

Maybe I'm being a bit thick, but I read it as meaning revenue for the country, tax on fuel, tax on vehicles and parts tax on repairs tax on insurance and.... Road tax.

Would that equate to £6,000 a year?

I'm not paying £500+ for the report, but the flyer for the report indicates it might be takings, not tax revenue. I think.

http://www.ibisworld.co.uk/market-resea ... ation.html

Well, if the average driver spends £80pw on fuel the total tax on that must be £50ish, then income tax of £1000 per year is another £20pw national insurance, another £5+ per week.

I think I am being quite conservative with those figures, but I am sure that with repairs, licensing, road tax and insurance (and don't forget the stealth tax of speed cameras) that the figures would average out at £120pw ish. especially when you put london into the equation with the likes of Addison Lee.

Sussex · **Posted:** Fri May 11, 2012 9:53 pm

I wonder if the £1.4 billion is the turnover of all the PH operators and large taxi firms.

It wouldn't surprise one little bit if the Law Commission have yet again forgot about the drivers. :sad:

MR T · **Joined:** Thu Sep 07, 2006 8:26 pm **Posts:** 8529

Sussex wrote:

I wonder if the £1.4 billion is the turnover of all the PH operators and large taxi firms.

It wouldn't surprise one little bit if the Law Commission have yet again forgot about the drivers. :sad:

why not ask Ian Millership for his take on this

Dusty Bin · **Joined:** Wed Sep 03, 2003 3:20 pm **Posts:** 3272

I would imagine the average taxi or PH would cost something like £300 per week just to break even, considering that most are attached to an office and thus pay £100 or so in fees.

OK, there are part-time cars, but on the other hand there are plenty of double and triple shifted motors, and some drivers in the likes of London turnover over at least a grand a week.

So surely £400 per week in fares would be a conservative estimate for the average taxi/PH vehicle?

Thus that's £20k per annum, so if there's 233,000 vehicles then that equates to £4.7 billion annual revenue in total. :shock:

MR T · **Joined:** Thu Sep 07, 2006 8:26 pm **Posts:** 8529

Dusty Bin wrote:

I would imagine the average taxi or PH would cost something like £300 per week just to break even, considering that most are attached to an office and thus pay £100 or so in fees.

OK, there are part-time cars, but on the other hand there are plenty of double and triple shifted motors, and some drivers in the likes of London turnover over at least a grand a week.

So surely £400 per week in fares would be a conservative estimate for the average taxi/PH vehicle?

Thus that's £20k per annum, so if there's 233,000 vehicles then that equates to £4.7 billion annual revenue in total. :shock:

I think they must be referring to the Revenue received from drivers to companies

Dusty Bin · **Joined:** Wed Sep 03, 2003 3:20 pm **Posts:** 3272

By the way, I'm not sure why some people are thinking the figure the LC states relates to the government's tax take.

Perhaps it's the word 'revenue' used by the LC that's misleading, maybe bringing to mind the Inland Revenue or Her Majesty's Revenue & Customs as it's now called.

But revenue in the context used by the LC just means turnover or takings or income and there's absolutely nothing to suggest that it might be referring to anything else.

Sussex · **Posted:** Fri May 11, 2012 10:22 pm

MR T wrote:

I think they must be referring to the Revenue received from drivers to companies

You might be right, but they repeat the £1.4 billion numbers throughout the report.

I think they have ballsed up.

captain cab · **Posted:** Fri May 11, 2012 10:23 pm

I cant believe those poor girls actually had time to go out of the office whilst compiling this internet based report

captain cab · **Posted:** Fri May 11, 2012 10:28 pm

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