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Originally Posted by ScaredWebWarrior
I just knew something like that was going to come up 
If these were built with public money, then having to pay for them is a tax too. I wonder if the Americans would refuse to pay for the use of them? |
But it's still not a tax or, as I said earlier, they are voluntary at their worst level.
I can't speak for the Dartford Bridge because I don't use it very often, but the Humber Bridge is a toll bridge because they have to pay off the debt acquired through building it. Now, it was built for the convenience of, for example, people who lived in Grimsby but worked in Hull who, instead of having a 75 mile journey, now have a 30 mile journey.
People are paying for the
convenience of saving themselves an extra 45 miles. However, if they don't want to pay the toll, they have the choice of going the long way round. As such, I still don't see why anyone would think any of these are taxes.
As I said earlier, the congestion charge is purely voluntary - if you don't want to pay it, don't drive through the congestion zone. Sometimes, and there are examples given onhere, this isn't practical but this is the exception rather than the rule.