INTERLUDE
Having completed their lobbying summary and recommendations briefing notes from the previous round of legal lobbying, the Office of the Commissioner of Lobbying of the Letaran Government closed their doors and went a on a well-deserved vacation. After getting back to their offices, they found their inboxes full. Not only were the inboxes full, there were even sheets of paper with complaints and further attempts at lobbying plastered to their closed office doors! What was all this about then?
Well, it seemed like some companies were very dissatisfied with the outcome of the previous lobbying efforts and the consequent decisions the Government of Letara made, and tried to alter the decisions with further lobbying efforts. This was not entirely unexpected. Taxes and tightened regulations are always unpopular. The main concern raised by several manufacturers was the regulation regarding safety standards set out by the Government in their updated Vehicle Code. Since the issues raised concern several departments of the Government, a cross-divisional working group was set-up to investigate some of the claims made by the companies. Here is a summary of findings and recommendations.
- The safety regulations are too strict and unattainable for small cars. Our engineering consultants have informed us that with clever techniques and proper equipment the standards are attainable even with the smallest of cars. More than half of cars on the road in Letara already meet or exceed the safety criteria. Therefore, we reject this assertion.
- The cars will be significantly more expensive, putting them out of reach of Letarans. Our market research has shown that the safety awareness program so generously paid for by one of the corporations is proving to be very effective. Thus, the research indicates that Letarans would rather pay a little more, or take public transportation, rather than buy unsafe cars. Therefore, we reject this notion.
- The tax on low, but legal, safety rated cars will “kill” the small and cheap car market. We reject this notion for several reasons. First, the tax scales to the initial price of the car. Thus, for cheaper cars, the imposed tax is rather minimal. Second, in conjunction with the Department of Healthcare, it was determined that the reduced healthcare costs for Letarans as a result of better safety equipment would offset any increased cost imposed by this minimal tax. Thus, we reject this third point as well.
The Government of Letara would like to remind everyone that in these tough times the way forward is through austerity. We all need to pull our weight to balance the budget and get the economy of the country back on its feet. With the changed taxation measures we will offset the lost income from car imports. We also offset the healthcare costs associated with unsafe vehicles on Letara’s roads by targeting unsafe cars, whatever size or category they fall in.
Signed - the Department of Transportation, Department of Health, and Revenue Agency.
PS. OOC: rules are set and round open for submissions!