IDS

[badexcuseforanangler]

I could see him "fishing" with handgrenades :cool:

[Peter Waller]

Seems that a great many people in various corridors of power, both political and industrial, are keen to ingraciate themselves with anglers. Yes, I just love being used as a political pawn :mad: . Now, if I were a cynic, I might even see a connection with the fox hunting brigade! But then I'm not a cynic! Why IDS should wish to suggest that he has a cloth cap in his wardrobe, e.g. be one of the boys on the riverbank is laughable. Especially as angling crosses all social devides, sometimes!

[Little Tinca]

Why does this illustrious leave out the IOT in his party name :confused: :confused:

[Bill Eborn]

I'm no fan of the blue bananas and like (I assume) some of the previous respondents to this thread think it is a good thing that we contribute to the EA through our rod licence. But since there is widespread evasion and policing the system does have a cost, perhaps it is worth asking whether the current system is the most efficient that there could be. I often wonder if there is anything we could learn from the French system, i.e you pay your Taxe Pisicole when you buy your Carte de Peche. Would a system which shifted responsibility for collection to clubs / fishery owners with anglers paying a levy on top of a day / season ticket free up more resources for the EA and raise more money?

[Peter Waller]

Like you Bill, I don't think the present system is effective. I pay for the armed forces to do things that I do not need, yet I pay my share towards it. Perhaps we should all pay towards the EA via central taxes, even if we don't fish. Clean rivers are to everyones' advantage. Like, alegedly, is fighting other folks' wars.

[Bill Eborn]

Peter

I guess the advantage about central taxation is as you say that everyone would be contributing to the maintenance of our waters, the other advantage would be that it would be based on an ability to pay. The present rod licence is a bit of a poll tax after all. With anglers paying a specific angling tax though, does this give us a level of influence which we would otherwise not have?

 

The French system does interest me though. I spend a lot of time surfing through their web site (www.unpr.fr) and apart from all the incredible waters they have, the set up of the Union National pour la Peche, which is based on a an alliance of Angling Clubs at a Departmental level which form a national federation does seem a very good one. I think angling has a healthier public profile over there than it does here anyway, but a structure like that must have a lot more political power.

[Jim Roper]

Peter Waller:

I just love being used as a political pawn

We Ex pistol shooters didn't.

 

I thought the EA rod license was the alternative to business rates being levied on commercial leisure fisheries, so that the AE got it, instead of government, central or local.

 

What would people prefer?

 

[ 03. September 2003, 09:39 AM: Message edited by: Jim Roper ]