President Obama took his motorcade through the Central part of London recently and now London Mayor Boris Johnson wants him to pay fines totaling £120 ($195) after the President failed to pay a £10 ($16) congestion levy.
The congestion levy was put in place as a “congestion charge” on Central London drivers from 7:00 am to 6:00 pm as a way to stop congestion which hinders all drivers and poses a risk to pedestrians in the area.
The U.S. isn’t the only embassy to have fines levied against them for driving on the cities streets, all together $81.5 million in congestion fees have been placed against leaders from all over the world.
The Obama administration however has fought paying the fines, citing the 1960 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations which prohibits imposing any taxes on foreign embassies. The Obama administration claims that the “levy” is nothing more than a tax and therefore they shouldn’t have to pay the fines.