"The Motorist Always Pays"

Sir,

Just another instance on how the motorist is fleeced. I turned in my four-monthly licence at the end of December as I am doing a major overhaul. A month later I get my refund, not as may be expected one quarter of what I paid but an amount calculated on one twelfth of the annual duty. The difference is small, viz. I received £1 0s. 10d. instead of quarter of £4 12s.0d.

I wrote to the County Council but they informed me it is correct. So the motorist now pays higher in the new four-monthly period than he did in the old three-monthly periods and, in addition, when a refund is made it is not even calculated on the original amount he has paid.

I am, Yours, etc., R.J. Williams. Rogerstone

 [Let us hope the Chancellor will bear in mind, when he introduces his Budget later this month, that motorists are one of the most savagely-taxed members of a community which has the dubious privilege of being the most heavily-taxed nation in the peace-time history of the free world.—Ed]