Brit diplomats refuse to pay any parking ticket or fee here in the US and routinely double park, park in red zones etc… They have no respect for us and let’s be honest, we have no respect for you or your new mayor and your “surveillance culture.”

On the subject of this, why not have a little hospitality for foreigners that come to your country and pay your VAT tax to fund your socialism? We treat Brits like visiting royalty, you guys treat us like scumbags for visitng your rain soaked little empire. Asking a guy that’s shown up for a day on business to figure out your mass transit system (knowing we don’t really have that in the US) is a total joke. In the US the car rental company would’ve charged him the toll, he was simply confused. It’s not unreasonable to think that they could hand him a piece of paper with the URL and/or paid it and charged through the credit card.

My goodness, the Embassy is right in the City, they pay the congestion charge leaving the driveway. One would think that with all the costs and fees and surcharges and taxes associated with living in London, if you lived in the Congestion zone you’d get a break.

As for Portia, she’s right – if you rent a car in London you need to understand how the charge works and make sure you pay it, even if you are only ‘passing through.’ A toll is generally a fee charged to use a specific road or bridge, not enter a huge sprawling city. The government uses its police and taxing power to collect the fee if you do not pay it – its a tax to enter the city. A toll is simply a nice way to call something a tax . . .

I can’t avoid it if my tax dollars or pounds are used to build a toll road.

I can avoid a toll by declining to use the facility in question. The London congestion charge is a toll.

Many people who disagree with Mayor Ken Livingstone on other matters think he got it exactly right when he likened the current US ambassador to a “chiselling little crook”.

P.S. I am aware that some foreign diplomatic staff in Washington and New York have long abused their diplomatic status to ignore traffic and parking laws. Should the US really be seen to be on their level as a matter of official policy?

And you can NOT tell me that ‘its paying for mass transit’ since it isn’t -it goes right into the London central account just like every other tax and fee assessed in the city. You can TELL yourself that, but its not true. Its like the bazillions of Americans who think there is a social security ‘account’ just waiting for them to draw upon. People are pretty amazing at how they can justify almost anything to themselves when its presents as ‘doing some good.’

The American Ambassador is correct, it is tax. Diplomats do not pay taxes.

I’ve got a much much better idea for diplomats. America will pay these fees, taxes and charges, if you do. If Britain, Botswana or Bahrain obey American laws, we’ll obey theirs. The ENTIRE solution to trade policy, trade disputes and tariffs is America adopting the policy of the nation we are trading with. If China does not respect patent, trademark and copyright, neither do we of their goods. If France has a 40% tariff on American wine, we have the same tariff on French wine. If Japan has a 90% tariff on American rice or cars, or requires extra inspections, we do as well.

If all America does is mirror the rules of the world around us, how can anyone dislike us? And, we make a point at the same time.

I agree with JCH about the notion that diplomats from any country should some how feel they are exempt from paying the congestion charge in London.