dave hearnden <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
wrote:

>> I must use Adrian reasoning about marginal costs when I dealing with the > 
>> Council Tax department.

Well, that would fail.  Council Tax is, er, a tax.  BW's charges are
the price of a service.  The two concepts are totally different, so
there is no logic in the suggestion that they should be calculated on
the same basis.

>Because council tax has NOTHING to do with the size of the house its down to 
>the value.Now do we want to go down the route of licences related to the value 
>of the boat and hence the ability of the owner to pay...........This is in 
>fact the way BW are going i.e. the larger the boat the more it must have cost 
>therefore the more the owner can pay I can think of many narrow boats that 
>cost way more than my barge, I wont name any as some of their owners subscribe 
>to this list!
> 
>Moose Replies,
> 
>Sorry If I work through the figures yes you are right it is by value, but in 
>the same area a three bedroom house will be a higher banding than a 1 bedroom 
>flat so if that is not depandent on size!

Not so.  A very poor condition house on an undesirable site may well
be worth a lot less than a nearby waterfron condo with a great view.  

>But the discussion was about the extra cost to BW to having wide beams against 
>Narrow Beams? Adrian advises no, but that must be the same for a 1 bedroom 
>flat  against a 3 bedroom house does it give the council anymore work? but we 
>know which will be charged at a higher rate!

Again, the comparison is simply invalid.  Why not suggest that the BW
charges should vary with the weight of the vessel?  I mean, that's the
way vegetables are sold, isn't it?  

"Bob Wood" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:

>Some might think it is a more sensible option than the 'willingness to
>pay' criteria that BW seems hell-bent on adopting.

That is fine for a marketplace with a significant number of suppliers
competing with each other.  It is inappropriate for a monopoly
supplier.  In the latter case, the charges for a service should be a
combination of an equal share component based on the time of access to
the service and the amount accessable (i.e. a standing charge) and a
marginal cost component (i.e. a usage charge).  However, because the
marginal cost to BW of a craft navigating is negligible, the latter
isn't justified on waterways.  

Adrian

.

Adrian Stott
07956-299966

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