March 12, 2008...2:31 pm
Budget 2008: your verdict
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The government has declared its budget for 2008. Among the changes that will affect motorists are:
- Increased fuel tax (postponed until October)
- Funding for new technology to manage road pricing
- Higher first year tax on the most polluting cars
- Planned changes to vehicle tax from April 2009 to encourage manufacturers to build less polluting cars
Will the 2008 budget have an effect on what car you drive or how much you drive? What’s your reaction to the budget?
191 Comments
March 12, 2008 at 5:06 pm
total money grab under the blind cover of bogus environmental garbage. planes can’t be taxed-they fuel and are owned overseas; ditto ships; trains can’t be taxed-the would just loose the government more money; so its cars and private car users getting clobbered again - £710M extra just on road tax disc, never mind petrol and diesel. I’m going to france. NO ROAD TAX at all and diesel fuel which was 99 cents in 2000 is still about 1.18 euro in a supermarket there(90p a litre).
March 12, 2008 at 6:09 pm
Unbelieveable, whats with everything trying to be green i thought politicians weren’t supposed to be fashionable, couldn’t be a stealth tax could it?!?!
Why can’t they invest there money sorting china’s problems instead of getting greedy from my hard earned cash, profanaties couldn’t describe what I think of Mr Darling
March 12, 2008 at 6:19 pm
Should have put road tax up a lot higher.
What is a Cayenne S doing in a town anyway?
March 12, 2008 at 7:42 pm
Conned and robbed again by this labour goverment. to get extra money in the pot cut MPs wages!
March 12, 2008 at 7:45 pm
Are motorists now funding the illegal war in Iraq? Do we have to follow a Government led by a Prime Minister the public didn’t vote for?
Is our greedy, conniving Government using “climate change” & “global warming” buzz words to steal our money?
Yes, yes & yes.
It’s humiliating having such a disgraceful Government.
March 12, 2008 at 7:50 pm
Another absolute joke with regards to tax. It makes me sooo angry they try and put these taxes down to the environment and people just swallow it. It’s about time people grew a back bone and said enough is enough!!!! We have been in a rising climate for millions of years, stop hammering the motorist who in this country contributes a tiny amount of co2 into the atmosphere. I drive a ‘gas guzzler’ and have no intention of stopping. Wake up people this is just a way of labour taking more of our hard earned cash.
March 12, 2008 at 8:08 pm
Well, there are two sides to it all really - possibly three…
It is totally fair enough to tax cars that emmit more pollution more money. That makes sense. However, should the charge not be on the manufacturer, rather than the consumer - we don’t design the engines so why do we suffer the cost? I am yet to see a family estate with an 1 litre engine that can go up a hill with the kids and the luggage in tow.
Secondly, is this the way to tackle pollution. Nationally our contribution to global pollution is, well negligible. China, USA, aircraft etc…the list goes on. Are they, (the corporates) making a ‘fair’ contribution; no.
Finally, who does this really affect? It certainly isn’t the rich, as they can afford it. It is not the poor, as they can’t afford it. Could it be the working classes yet again, subsidising deficits not created by themselves.
Tax the rich - heavily. Surely that’s fair, if we all benefit? Isn’t it?
March 12, 2008 at 8:18 pm
The government are using the profile of extremist environmental hand wringers to push forward tax raising measures against the will of the country. If anyone really thinks these changes will have any discernable effect on the environment, they are sadly misguided. For a start, only 3% of CO2 emissions are man made (fact). IF global warming could even be proved to be fundamentally caused by man made activity (unlikely, given the basic facts as above) then does anyone think that maybe taking a few of the higher emitting cars off the road in little old UK is going to make any difference? Global warming is GLOBAL and China are building coal fired power stations at the rate of one every two weeks! At this rate we’ll be back to horses and carts while the developing economies surpass our standard of living.
March 12, 2008 at 8:24 pm
What a joke this country is becoming, Car tax up again. plus petrol, when will it stop rising..
Well ill make sure i fit that bigger exhaust on my car and burn out more CO2 as im paying for it!!
March 12, 2008 at 8:25 pm
Unbelieveable, the country loves to take tax everything and increase the rate of every so often and it affects the average driver, not those rich guys whom make those decisions!.
March 12, 2008 at 8:32 pm
Clown policies by a guy that looks like a clown
March 12, 2008 at 8:42 pm
New motorist here, this is getting out of hand. Why don’t they start taxing the airports, why they’re buliding an extension to my hometown’s airport, and they blame us for all this “Carbon” nonsense. Well first of all stop taking down the Amazon rainforest Carbon-Dioxide —> Oxygen!
I can’t see what the problem is!
“Global Warming” in my opinion is a lot of old toosh - the person who invented this must be really rich I mean seriously!
Not that I’m for going “greener” anyhow but all this makes you want to drive a 7 litre Range Rover or whatever!
March 12, 2008 at 8:46 pm
This tax doesn’t take into account the life cycle of a car (i.e. how much C02 goes into making a car, how long the car lasts etc.). Only stupid people think less c02 a car emits = more pollution. Toyota built a new factory for the Prius, how much c02 went into that?!
The biggest contributor (in the UK motoring world) to c02 production is the person who buys a new car every year. Those who keep the same car for 10-15yrs should be rewarded not penalised with this idiotic idea current being used.
This is an attempt at taxing the rich and has nothing to do with the environment.
Edited by moderator. No insults please.
March 12, 2008 at 8:58 pm
So according to this, my humble 02 reg Vectra SR 130 that by 2010 will be 8 years old and probably be worth around £1000 will be in line for £260 road tax!! It is a clean and efficient car that does between 30 and 40mpg but emits 187 gms of CO2. Where as all pre 2000 cars are exempt from CO2 taxes, including Range Rovers and Rolls Royces!! I would sell it but who would want to buy it now!!??
March 12, 2008 at 9:24 pm
I (with a car of 185g/km) will have to find an extra £90 next year. A slightly more polluting car of 195g/km which up until now was a bracket higher, will now pay the same as me …. an increase of only £50.
So, to the idiot Chancellor, who thinks he is taxing those who pollute more …….. I for one will be buying a more polluting car next year, ‘cos it will cost me the same as my less polluting one.
March 12, 2008 at 10:12 pm
what a joke why are they picking on 2006 cars when i got my car it was £210 a year for road tax now its £400 why do we jump up so much , the govement says its to make me change my car well if thats the case i could buy the same car made befor march 2006 and pay less road tax or i could go all out and make some real co’2 and buy a 1991 4.0L jeep with low road tax what a bargin . its the old cars that should be of the road as they are the smokers , goverments got it all wrong there just makeing money if they really wanted to get the high c0′2 cars of the road it would been done on all years time to leave this country its gone to pop
March 12, 2008 at 11:10 pm
Hammer the motorist yet again.
This is the most corrupt ,lying bankrupt of ideas government this country has ever seen.
Call a general election if you dare. Especially when no one else seems to care. We already pay more than just about any country in the world. Bunch of self serving crooks.
Edited by moderator. No swearing please.
March 12, 2008 at 11:28 pm
I think Mr Darling has well and truly done us motorists a bad deal. Though i do agree with the Chelsea tractors tax bands, as they’re not needed in the city, off road yes!
Though what aggrevates me the most is that we’re told to buy small engine cars to help the environment but what did Mr Darling drive away in when he’d delivered his budget….. a Range Rover probably at least 3.0 litre possibly 4.0 litre. Of course extra road tax for him wont matter he’ll get a pay rise in order to compensate it in the next few months you just wait!
What’s that saying you should practice what you preach!
As a brand new motorist it is already expensive buying insurance without having to fathom out new road tax costs, which will add on a few more pounds. However, my dad is seriously going to be penalised as he has a 2.0 litre focus however uses it only a couple of times a week but still has to pay the same as someone with the same car who uses it a hell of a lot more! This whole climate change, save the environment stuff what is the point when you have the majority of American’s driving round in 4.0+ litre pick up trucks and China erecting a power station every week-what difference will the piddly UK make to climate change when we’re up against these countries?????
March 12, 2008 at 11:31 pm
Taxing vehicles on the basis of bands is the most unfair system ever devised. My Jaguar will rise to over £400.00 per dispite the fact I don’t fly and do less than 4,000 miles per year. I already pay more tax on ever gallong of petrol I buy and now I will end up paying even more tax dispite the fact that a driver with a vehicle in a lower band who drives 10,000 miles a year actualy pollutes more than I do. This new car tax band system is nothing more than a way to raise money and has very little to do with actual environmental issues.
March 13, 2008 at 1:04 am
Outrage. I’m so sick of England. I love this country but i’m sick of being shafted. Whatever happened to parity? The US is a very different economy but fundamentally, isn’t crippled by woeful public transport, without viable alternative. I will not vote for any green measures until we are as hard on foreign environmental policy as we are on national environment issues.
March 13, 2008 at 2:01 am
what a joke whats next tax for having wide tyres
March 13, 2008 at 9:49 am
What a load of twoddle. Global warming and all that other environmental palave that keeps idiots in jobs wins again.
When will these prats realise that people who have 50k+ to spend on a 4×4 will not bat an eyelid when asked for £450 of tax - it’s back pocket cash for them. The government is following the age old tradition of looking after the rich and sodding the poor - apart from the very poor who get more money to spend on their gas meter but won’t actually be better off because their fags and cider have gone up as well.
March 13, 2008 at 9:50 am
CO2 figures are just like MPG figures, totally unachievable in the real world. Everyone knows that the Prius and Bluemotion are miles away from their stated MPG which means their CO2 emissions are as well.
Any CO2 tax needs to be based on the actual useage of the car not a set of figures.
Someone doing 12k a year in a Prius pollutes more than someone doing 3k a year in a Ferrari.
March 13, 2008 at 9:57 am
Wow here we go again!! The government are out to line their pockets!! What they don’t realise is they have no control over the so called “Greenhouse Effect”. If the earths history is studied then you will note that temprature fluctuations have always occured i.e. Ice Ages, Extreme Heat etc… Were people driving cars then?? I don’t think so! What a shambles! It really hits a nerve when in todays economy the average person is being sucked out of whatever he is worth! I don’t see wages rising at the rate of taxes! And I don’t see other taxes reducing. Oh yeah and petrol is due to go up as well!! The public needs to take action but unfortunately we are stuck in such a system that we just don’t have the time or energy. Its about time we all woke up, otherwise things are going to get from bad to worse!
March 13, 2008 at 9:59 am
Above any budget I recall, this one is full of stealth taxes, taxing the vulnerable groups once again. What happens in a few years when “global cooling” kicks in? Does everyone get a refund then? The earth heats up, then it cools down again. Always has, always will. What reason will Darling’s successor (let’s face it, he won’t last very long as Chancellor) give for even more taxes then? Cars aren’t the main cause of CO2 emmissions, but they’re the softest target to tax. Is fuel in the UK now the most expensive in Europe? The cost of living must ge getting that way too.
March 13, 2008 at 10:13 am
what,another tax(what a surprise) have this government got nothing else to do than tax people
that are working hard to keep them in the easy life they are used to.
The hot air that comes out of this governments
mouth every day is far more damaging to our
enviroment than any vehicle on the planet.
In my opinion the average man off the street has
more idea what this country needs than this
government.
They have probably come out of university
with a degree in african pottery and now they think they can run the country.
March 13, 2008 at 10:52 am
Im disgusted by the new Tax it is only penalising those who arent big earners but like a nice car I have an RX-8 and Im am going to be royally shafted. The UK only emits 1% of the worlds CO2 so why tax us so much that we want to leave the country?? Looking at the new tax structure does anyone know if this also means that irrelevant of the age of your car you will fall into tax on pure emmisions?
March 13, 2008 at 11:08 am
The 1st new car I ever managed to own in my 48 years on this planet now has no resale value - and I will still be paying for it 2012! I guess I will have to go back to owning a succession of polluting old bangers - thanks Darling!
March 13, 2008 at 12:19 pm
What happens to pre 2001 cars now? are they liable to tax increases?
ps I live on a farm, use my 4×4 for less than 1500miles/yr.
March 13, 2008 at 12:22 pm
reminds me of an old romal film thousands of abandoned cars ,theres were tanks ,out of fuel and all off us walking back home we need to stand up to this gov once and for all
March 13, 2008 at 12:40 pm
so the fascist dictators are at it again, stealing our money to line their own pockets, they can build a new runway at heathrow but i can’t drive my car, who are these faceless people who come out with climate change, they must be making a fortune, well my advice to brown and his greedy corrupt cronies is this, you better learn to speak polish because they’ll be the only ones left in this country after we all leave. and a message to the pie and bunnet brigade who keep voting the labour parasites in year after year, they don’t care about you, so wise up and change your vote
March 13, 2008 at 12:43 pm
Another Outrage!!!! i have saved up for a long time and bought a car ive always admired (Mg Zt 2.5 190+) now i will have to either pay £400 or tax it for a year in sept, then sell it, i dont drink or smoke so its there way of shafting us. while they all get ferried around it 4.2 jags they dont pay for!!! the government are all crooked !!!
March 13, 2008 at 12:54 pm
I CANT WAIT FOR THE NEXT ELECTION, MY VOTE WILL BE TO GET THIS LABOUR GOVERMENT GONE! THEY HAVE RAPED THE MOTORIST FOR THE LAST 10YRS. TIME THE MOTORING ORGANISATIONS STOOD UP TO THEM AND SAID ENOUGH IS ENOUGH. IM SURE THEY HAVE FORGOTTEN HOW MANY MILLIONS OF US THERE ARE! LETS UNITE AGAINST THIS SHOWER AND SEE THE BACK OF THEM..
March 13, 2008 at 1:51 pm
i think the new tax bands are a load of rubbish the people that can afford new cars get a good deal on there tax but what about the people that can’t afford it we get penalised which means we pay more money and make are chance’s of gettin a newer car even harder as not able to save as were always forking out more money then we should
March 13, 2008 at 2:06 pm
This country has got MUG written all over it!
I work hard, travel 60miles per day for work and all I’m paying for is Insurance, Tax, Car Loan & Ludicrous Petrol Prices which is next year going to cost over £800 per month just to run a car!
I haven’t even thought about moving out yet as I can’t save a penny to build a deposit! This would be because of the silly amount of Tax & National Insurance we pay….
Get Labour OUT ASAP
The Goverment lose all our personal information, they take all of our hard eard earn cash in any tax possible….
Americans actually laugh at us because we pay it just remember we fund the police to stop crimes not to stop people without road tax and with the internet a big group can form extremely quickly to get you out and it WILL happen the sooner the better!
March 13, 2008 at 2:24 pm
this country is a joke, am sick off taxes, i am glad ive got a decat on my car and get my moneys worth,
March 13, 2008 at 2:58 pm
EXCELLENT!!!!
Its about time people who choose a ‘lifestyle’ vehicle were made to pay more for the real disadvantages they cause to society by doing so.
Well done chancellor and I look forward to the new VED structure increasing for the worst pollutors.
By the way I’m not a bicycle owning hippie, I have two cars and a motorbike.
March 13, 2008 at 3:24 pm
In my opinion, this is daylight robbery. In 2010, a petrol fuelled Passat will have an extra £260 added on top of its RRP and a diesel fulled Mercedes GL-Class will have an extra £925 added.
I reckon, high emitting vehicles should cough up around £350 for road tax.
I’m not going to like the new VED bands and car manufactures will freak out. Porsche is already taking legal action against Ken Livingstone over the £25 a-day congestion charge.
March 13, 2008 at 3:58 pm
It really does beggar belief. Is it really going to take years of this green tax bull,before people wake up to the fact that climate change has been occuring since the birth of man?
All climate change models are based on pure guess work, by scientists who are running low on things to keep funding coming their way. All predictions by these educated fools are based purely on theories. Theories which are made to sound like they’re based on fact.
The Earths oceans and volcanos produce more c02 than even the chinese could. If every human on the face of the planet bought 10, 5litre big block v8 muscle cars, that wouldnt even scratch the damn surface of whats naturally emitted.
The green lobby (WHO ARE THE MINORITY) should just move on to more pressing matters such as de-forestation.
The elected government should ask what the 25 million drivers of this god foresaken country actually want.
March 13, 2008 at 4:16 pm
this is absolutely wrong. Traders will make less profit on their cars. and petrol cars will be less popular! i think is wrong
March 13, 2008 at 4:29 pm
Why are we surprised??? We knew this was coming…..& can expect more of the same. We are all to blame for sticking with this government - as someone has already said, we are a country of mugs - we just roll over & accept everything that comes our way - & motorists are in the firing line. I resent how a government that takes so much of my cash can turn around & try & dictate how I live my life…..I am one of the lucky ones who can stick 2 fingers up & drive what I like, I just feel sorry for the car mad working class man who suddenly finds himself unable to drive the car he could 2 years ago……because society has suddenly got a ‘green’ conscience & the government are taking the michael on the back of it…..!!!! We are been taken for idiots!!!!!!!
By 2 jocks!!!!!!!!!!!!
As usual, the rich benefit & the majority suffer - & you thought a labour government would be different right?!? Ha.
& as for daily mail reading, bicycle clip wearing liberals, stop preaching your idealistic cobblers on the rest of us who live in the real world!!
Edited by moderator. No swearing please.
March 13, 2008 at 5:02 pm
what a scam, the easiest and fairest way to tax so called “gas guzzlers” it on petrol (as they all ready do), if you drive a thirsty car or do loads of miles you pay more, you drive an efficient car or do very few miles you pay less… or is that too simple and wouldn’t require millions of pounds of tax payers money being spent on more civil servents. This is just a sneaky way of taking even more money… at least all this money is going towards improving the roads, oh how stupid of me there wasn’t any cash left after they bought all the bombs to secure cheap oil for the west, oh the irony!
Anyone fancy starting a political party based on what is best for the people in the country… it would never work
March 13, 2008 at 5:51 pm
These new road tax bands are design to take more money out of the motorist and doesnt serve the best interest of the so called gobal warming problem which i doubt is true, Anyway what annoys me that someone who can afford to spend 70k on a car wont be bothered bout putting a extra 1000 on top to tax it, But what this is hurting is the familys who drive People carrys to fit there chidlren in, So a typical ford galaxy is a 2.3 is gonna cost £750 to road tax in 2010, So if this goverment is thinking its serving the poorer familys then i think they should look again. plus i dont know how they work this out because on st220 3.0 v6 to tax that in 2010 dependin what year it was first registered would cost 430 a year,
So judgin by this system it really flawed
March 13, 2008 at 5:51 pm
Darling - Who’s darling is he, what a joke, all he has succesfully done is alienate the motorist even further from this sham of a Government. Make Jeremy Clarkson Prime Minister that what I say. This country needs leaders that are in touch with its people, not some clown looking baffoon, living in an ivory tower, being driven everywhere in a 4.0 l Jaguary coutasy of the Government car service, That he isn’t paying either fuel raod tax or congestion charge for, What a CROOK.
March 13, 2008 at 5:58 pm
Please , please bring on the general election so we can get rid of this “not fit for purpose” goverment.
I`m tired of paying for there mis-managment. Best thing they could do is all go on holiday we`d all be better of.
March 13, 2008 at 6:21 pm
They really can’t help themselves can they?
Green Policies? Dont make me laugh.
Another Budget, another excuse to fleece us.
What a surprise.
March 13, 2008 at 6:26 pm
The environmental impact of cars in next to nothing… the Labour government is conning the population into thinking that higher taxes are the way forward… what a bunch of idiots. If the government were serious about the environment they would put a stop to immigration because it is over population that will harm the environment; but of course that wouldn’t raise any money for them. I have a good mind to go out and buy a Capri 3.0 and thrash it past the stupid lefty bean chompers, just to annoy them.
March 13, 2008 at 6:34 pm
It is good to see the Goverment all using small car’s for a couple of hundered metre journey ie, Jaguar XJ8’s.
They take 70% tax on the price of fuel already, that means gas guzzlers, if they are only doing half as much to the gallon as the more economical green vehicle are already paying twice as much per mile in tax to the goverment already.
If you buy a more expensive car you pay more tax, ie, VAT 17.5%.
Most gas guzzler’s are only used as a 2nd or 3rd car,with mileage of 3-5,000pa, so low polluting car’s that pay little or no road tax do 12-20,000 miles pa are polluting the world more!
Not many gas guzzler’s do average or above average milage!
I think a multple tax disc that allows 3 car registrations to be put on it should be introduced, thus allowing it to be transferrerd between vehicles. The cost should be the road tax on the highest polluting vehicle plus £40 or so.
If the other cars are not on the road why tax them when they are not giving out any co2 emmisions.
Car tax is now so confusing, you dont know how much you wil pay when looking for a car.
I think this just make’s me even more of a rush to get out of this country.The Most expensive place to live in Europe. (Good Old Labour)
March 13, 2008 at 6:47 pm
I bought the car for £2500. I drive a 1.0L Volswagen Polo and I’m 17. I pay about £1000 for my insurance and have no points on my licence. Fuel cost me £1.10 per litre so that equates to about £45-£50 for a full tank of fuel. Tax is going to end up costing me an extra £10 in 2011 if I keep my car - and it may sound like I’m a cheapskat but that can go towards maintenance of whatever.
It begs me to ask the question….do the government want the younger generation to even be driving fullstop?
It is completely up to the owner what car they drive and we all seem to have this big idea that 4×4 are killing the planet. I can completely understand if a Mum OR Dad wantd to drive one, becuase they are safer than a family car.
These crazy increases are just to fund the immoral injustice benefit system the MP’s/Government workers fob of us. The NHS is millions into debt and yet they all seem to be claiming every bill going. Bring on a new party to the government!
Rant over!
March 13, 2008 at 6:51 pm
We are an island, and burn about 3% in co2 .
I would love to know what America, China, and Russia burn, and when there going to do something about it.
All the green good we do, is being wasted by huge countries like this.
For me it’s too little too late, and this shameful govt is taxing us anyway they can.
How come a working class person is taxed at 20%, of his or her wage, yet a muti millionaire only pays 10%.
It’s about time the mega rich started coughing up big time.
March 13, 2008 at 7:31 pm
We all deserve what these useless politicians hand out to us . The British will pay exactly what there told to pay ,and do exactly what there told to do while crying in there beer,the only ones with any guts on this issue are the lorry owners.
March 13, 2008 at 7:35 pm
why not put petrol down to 80 odd pence a litre and road tax as it is now then i am sure people would be very happy to pay that therefore may respect them then when they say something people may listen not hate them for everything they do
and i have just bought a 4.2 v8 supercharged Range Rover i am going to be paying like £800,000,000 a year tax by 2020
March 13, 2008 at 7:45 pm
Well are we really surprised on yet another road tax rise lets all face reality here the good old days have gone and never to return the all time low cost of living as gone for ever.from now on in the uk all we can expect is more rises in everything apart from our wages but has this government ever thought what happens when there is no blood left in the stone it stops functioning it crumbles it is no more.i truly believe what my friends say the word great as been taken out of great britton
March 13, 2008 at 8:04 pm
Reducing Co2 emissions should have nothing to do with wealth, it should be uniform and come from advances in technology and the manafacturers. These large albeit affordable increases in tax are a pure money spinner. I drive a VW Touareg and will continue to do so, charges will do nothing but isolate the poor and the people who can afford it will just foot the bill. Its obvious they know it wont work because A, they provided no forecast CO2 figures B, if we all bought VW polos with £0 tax the government would have a large hole in their pockets!
March 13, 2008 at 8:08 pm
This car tax hike is a load of rubbish and serves just as another get rich quick scheme from the government. There are those who say you should pay by the mile however those of us who do more than average mileage pay more than our fair share of fuel duty in return. It should be the motorist getting a refund as the amount of money we hand over no way reflects the investment in our roads. If we all used public transport then the government would be up the creek because as much as they say they dont want us to use our cars to go about our daily work they cant afford for us not to and them loose the tax we pay.
No wonder more and more hard working brits are emigrating.
March 13, 2008 at 8:10 pm
What a ridiculous idea!!
ENOUGH IS ENOUGH . . . . as if the price for petrol isn high enough as it is at present. . . . now the government want to increase the tax on our vehicles.
Government should be concentrating their efforts on things that matter for example the NHS crisis, lack of funds, resources and underpayment of many employees right across the service. I should Should know as I work for the service.
This country is finished, Why have a government as they are only concerned with conning the nation into paying out extortion rates for absoultely everything!!!
March 13, 2008 at 8:16 pm
i am running 2 4×4, after this new tax, i will think of taking a chance and not pay it or insure the vehicles, lot more uninsured vehicles are about to hit the road , blame that prat
March 13, 2008 at 8:22 pm
A project is underway that aims to create a fuel cell-powered car that generates hydrogen fuel from a tank of water.
A boron and water-powered engine would not produce any harmful emissions. The only by-product of the process is boron oxide, which can simply be turned back into boron.
And to produce the same amount of energy as a 40-litre tank of petrol, the new vehicle would only require 45 litres of water and 18 kilograms of boron.
What would happen next from this government if this was a reality now?
March 13, 2008 at 8:22 pm
why dont all us car drivers bring this country to a standstill by blocking up the motorways as the truckers have been bought off (petrol over a £ and diesal more expensive than gold ) where are there now . all talk
March 13, 2008 at 8:26 pm
cars are becoming for the more wealthy people like many years ago when the car was first invented.
the government forgets people who live in the country side who don’t have public transport .
and need 4×4 s to get to work and for work
March 13, 2008 at 8:26 pm
alistar darling doesnt know what he is chatting about. he drives around in a big jaguar that polluttes the air and expects us to pay tax. its a money making scheme because labour have borrowed too much. they need to make money and our road tax is the only way. he shouldnt be taken seriousley.
March 13, 2008 at 8:39 pm
NOT EVERY ONES CUP OF TEA , BUT I DRIVE A RENAULT MEGANE`
1.5DCI AND MY TAX IS 35 QUID A YEAR AND 55 TO THE GALLON,
MY WIFE HAS THE CLIO WHICH IS THE SAME ,
SO THE TAX SYSTEM TO ME IS GREAT
March 13, 2008 at 8:59 pm
What a joke. I drive a 2l Ford Focus and as of March next year I will have to pay £300 for road tax. By then that will be about 10% of my cars value each year! This tax is designed to target idiots who don’t need a 4×4 who have more than enough money to pay for road tax at any price and can afford the fuel at any price. So how exactly is it going to affect them? Exactly, it isn’t. It’s going to affect people who NEED a big vehicle to undertake their work. It will push up haulage costs which will ultimately be passed on to me and you - the consumer and tax payer. Steam is coming out of my ears now so I’ll leave it at that….
March 13, 2008 at 8:59 pm
Any government in this country isn’t stupid when it comes to motorists. They keep squeezing and we keep paying - simple!
Calling for a general election and getting Labour out won’t change anything. We are suckers for our cars and every politician knows it. As stated earlier by somebody, blaming cars for global warming is the biggest scam going. Anybody remember ‘Acid rain’ scare stories in the Eighties? Who talks about that anymore?
March 13, 2008 at 9:00 pm
Taxing the motorist will have a very small affect other than making the average motorist poorer, many perhaps choosing to drive uninsured as a result to save the cash.
What is needed is worldwide policy that encourages the manufacturers to reduce their vehicle emissions. That way we all buy more environmentally friendly vehicles. Until the worst polluting nations in the world play ball however there’s unlikely to be the chance of such a unified move.
March 13, 2008 at 9:03 pm
Easy target again!!
I drive for a living and it appears to me that because of years of under investment we are now playing catch up?
Everytime the ordinary bloke on the street thinks he’s getting ahead in life…….. Bang the goverment of the day decides to Knock him down!!
I hear at Novembers interim budget Mr Darling WILL TAX EATING..??
March 13, 2008 at 9:12 pm
ray you are spot on i have two cars and the ones £400 road tax the ather is only a 1.9 and it was £210 last year to tax i can only drive one car at a time and i really do not use the £300 one that much as it was a car for fun as i have work hard for years and wanted to buy a nice sports cars with my hard eared money.
March 13, 2008 at 9:16 pm
Isn’t it funny and ever so slightly hypercritical how the government rant and rave about “greener” cars? Yet its not often you see Chancellor Alistair Darling or Gordon Brown been carted round in a Citroen C1 or Peugeot 107 always seems to be a big petrol guzzling jaguar.
March 13, 2008 at 9:17 pm
i can not beleave what a normal car like a astra or focus pay now all its going to make use do is buy pre 2001 smokers that are worse was they are cheaper on tax and you can get a big engine one two with power insted of buying a 2008 noddy car that is a 1.0 ltr
March 13, 2008 at 9:19 pm
i pay £400 a year now am going to decat my car now and maybe tune it as am paying top tax band G so might as well get my moneys worth
March 13, 2008 at 9:28 pm
so say we all went to these green noddy cars which coast £35 pounds a year to tax and maybe the tax free hybrid cars do you really think they will do with out the money they are loseing out on no way they will just tax them higher when we all change,
am saveing up and moveing out of this country i have had it now its gone to pop we have no say in anything and the govement seems to be able to get away with anything we need to turn on them people like the french do
March 13, 2008 at 9:35 pm
it will soon be cheaper to dodge road tax and if you get court which is not very likley the fine would be cheaper
March 13, 2008 at 9:49 pm
We all make choices, based on our budgets and what we need a car to do for us. Bought my Freelander (53 plate) to tow a caravan (don’t all shout at me at once….I like my caravan) and I could afford to run it. Now along come the government and move the goalposts….I’ve now got to find double the road tax from next year when these new bands come into force and if I think to myself, maybe its now time to sell the Land Rover? Don’t think so…who is going to buy it? I’ve just lost thousands off its value. Shafted, good and proper, whichever way you look at it.
March 13, 2008 at 10:18 pm
This Goverment is shocking!
We all need to go on strike!!! Remember the 2001 fuel demenstration!!!!
March 13, 2008 at 10:21 pm
No prob here, just leaving this country and moving abroad where u are treated more fairly.My gain Englands lose…..don’t vote with X use your feet and emigrate
March 13, 2008 at 10:29 pm
We all say that ’something needs to be done’, and then sit back and wait for someone else to do something, that’s why nothing ever happens, the Government see they can get away with doing what they want and forcing us to pay ridiculous amounts of tax on EVERYTHING, twice… Sometimes THREE times!
When will something actually happen? How many of us live in this country? We all pay how much tax? We all know that Co2 is irrelevant to climate change. It’s already been said that it’s the natural course of the Earth to heat up and cool down, thus the Ice Age, so next is a warmer climate before things cool off once again. But someone thought it would be a good idea to go around scare-mongering and making up stories about how it’s not a HUGE planet, or an ENORMOUS sun which effect our climate, but actually a species living on this planet, an insignificant one at that… Humans! WE are the be-all-end-all of EVERYTHING! It is in fact US who are changing the climate of our entire planet! Yeah… Look, there goes the gingerbread man, another one of your fairy tales! Humans have a great effect on most things, it is actually us who cause stars to explode, and we made the sun too…
Also… why is their answer to everything ‘increase or add tax’?? What, do they plan to pay the planet to make it cooler? Give it an envelope full of money as a bribe to not get any hotter? Or maybe they just want to make everything so expensive that no one can afford to buy anything anymore? Except the rich of course, who are pretty much completely unaffected by the whole thing! But what they don’t understand is that’s not what’s happening, people STILL have to use their cars to go to work, and we struggle to afford to live. The cost of living is a joke. The Government seem to be creating poverty and turning this country into a door matt! We DESPERATELY need a revolution, we can’t accept this way of life any longer!
If we ALL stood together and made our thoughts CRYSTAL CLEAR to the government, could they ignore us then? Maybe they’ll make a ‘protesting tax’ and get us that way?!
March 13, 2008 at 10:37 pm
What car does PM brown drive? When was the last time he paid for fuel??
I dont even think PM brown drives??
If he did he would understand how upsetting these bunch of policy nanny state taxes are destroying this country. I am moving to France. Its nothing but a state taxed to the hilt and in the red our balance of payments are the most in the RED in Europe. I feel so sad as to how this country has been punished through stealth taxes and lies.
March 13, 2008 at 11:00 pm
What A Con. How much more are we going to put up with!
I need my car to get to and from work now i just go to work to pay the car tax and to put over taxed petrol in the car ?
How much more are we going to cough up for this goverment?
Its time to get out of this nightmare its time to get this goverment out.
March 13, 2008 at 11:13 pm
I’ve just managed to work out the new tax system. Took some time and it didn’t help that the DVLA tax site only lists new cars.
Right
We’ve just move house so needed a second car for getting to work, not keen commuting in the old MX5.
Bought a 53 plate Polo 1.4 TDI, great it’s low on CO2 - 122, cost’s £115 to tax this year but, but £120
next tax year (band C)
Under the new tax system the tax drops down to £90 (band C). So the tax man gets an additional £30 in 08/09, even if it’s a low CO2 car. Talk about green taxes!
My wife has our second car a Maxda MX5. It’s only used when we’re working in different locations, and the odd weekend in the summer, if we get one. Expect we’ll do around 3k a year. I think it currently cost’s £205 to tax. (Band F).
Even though it’s a second car with low milage, under the new tax system it’s going to cost us £300 a year to tax (bank K).
So, our main cars good on CO2 and cheep to tax. Our second low milage car will jump by £95.
Two cars current tax 08/09 - £320
Two cars new tax 09/10 - £390
This it crazy, if we had a better public transport system we would not need the second car.
The government should be looking at the reason so many homes HAVE to have two cars. Instead they insist on taxing the middle classes and doing nothing about the route of the problem.
Idea - bring out the option to pay as you drive for second cars or low milage users. No, they can’t do that, it’s just too FAIR.
Rant over, but as a life long Labour supporter I’v lost all confidence this government.
March 13, 2008 at 11:38 pm
The fairest system would abolish road tax but increase by a small amount the tax on fuel, hence the “greener” cars and people only covering a low mileage per year would reduce their motoring costs and there would be enormous savings on administration managing the current system. The people with the larger cars and those covering a high mileage would then be making a proportional contrbution to their effects on the environment and their use of the roads.
March 13, 2008 at 11:39 pm
A Land Rover Defender Station Wagon (with windows and seats in the back) will pay £400 for tax. A Land Rover Defender VAN, which is IDENTICAL, except for the fact it doesn’t have windows in the back will pay £180 a year as it’s classed as a Light Commercial Vehicle!
I challenge all these politicians who get chauffered around in their Merc’s and Jags to swap for a little VW Polo BlueMotion or whatever its called for a week or so!
March 13, 2008 at 11:57 pm
Rich, did you actually stop to think before you typed? A 1 year old car is going to produce considerably less CO2 than a 10 year old car!
March 14, 2008 at 12:04 am
How else did anyone imagine how this government was going to pay for the Iraq war, And as we can all see the US is paying a very high price to the point of melt down and this once great country is following. In those famous GORDEN BROWN word ’s IN REAL TERMS when we stop buying the new cars the job cuts will start at point of sales right down the line to the supplier ’s and manufacturers of the componants , who will be their next TAX victims perhaps all those green bicycle riders who so far have in there persuit of clean air have closed there eyes to the fact that the rubber tyres on there green machines are made in one of the worst poluting countries on the planet .
I see myself as one of the lucky ones as when sell up and leave like so many others taking my money with me, Then New Labour can go down in the history books as the ones who broke a country.
If we all took a stand and stayed at home for one day or just stopped our cars on the road at a given time so this whole country came to a standstill the financial implications to this Clown Government could topple there New Labour Dream.
March 14, 2008 at 12:20 am
I just wonder when the government will stop using so called ‘green’ issues as an excuse to raise tax and do something to reduce pollution. Allowing people to pollute as long as they are rich enough helps no one. If they want to reduce pollution the solution is simple. Bring in legislation governing the co2 emissions allowable on new cars. The manufacturers would then have to make the cars less polluting. Oh silly me they will never do that, the government would lose tax as more cars would fall into the lower tax levels.
March 14, 2008 at 12:45 am
very unfair for people like myself that live in the country and need our 4×4 vehicles, shouldn’t they make it a post code road tax ? unlike people living in the centre of London driving their kids to school in a 4×4 I live on a farm and need to have my jeep for work
March 14, 2008 at 12:46 am
my minis tax will be going up again. this government just want more and more of our money and if you drive its the easiest way to take it from you disgrace. im going back to diesel and i can go into the republic of ireland and save 25pence per litre that way this excuse for a government can get no more money from me
March 14, 2008 at 1:00 am
It is grossly unfair to be punished so heavily with road tax for a car purchase decision made several years ago e.g. 2002 Golf V5 emitting 223g/km. How was I to know the government was going to start clobbering me 5 years later for this? I do little annual mileage and I already pay petrol duty in line with my CO2 emissions. I bought the car to keep for 10 years+. Substanial changes in road tax banding should only be applied on cars made from 2009 - at least this gives us the chance to prepare. Older cars will eventual go out of use. And what proprtion of ‘gas guzzling’ road tax will go towards a solution of an efficient green engine/fuel. Give us carrots and not just sticks. Very dissapointed with this budgetary decision and government. Almost as bad as the council tax.
March 14, 2008 at 1:58 am
why do us drivers stand for this?
i can understand discriminating against the useless 4×4s that clog up our roads, but why the average family car, which is also going to suffer heavily?
this rise in road tax has very little to do with “green” issues, and more to do with the fact our government is far too greedy!
this is just another example of rip-off britain digging itself into a deeper hole….
March 14, 2008 at 2:27 am
Is anyone as confused as me about the new road tax. There appears to be so many variations as to the new prices and what cars they apply to.
I drive a Ford Galaxy 2002 model and my Partner drives a Mitsubishi FTO 1995 model. Neither of these cars appears on any list so is anyone aware of how much the road tax is now.
Any useful websites for old cars would be appreciated
March 14, 2008 at 3:17 am
I cant wait till we able to vote this waste of time goverment out of power, I mean we got a prime minster we didnt even vote for so why is he in office, When tony blair left we should had a gerenal election then, We didnt ask to have gordon brown in power and from the looks of it his gonna kill the uk whats left of it, I hope we can have election soon as possible, And in when the election for london mayor comes along i know who my vote for london mayor is going to ands its not to ken “con artist” livingston
March 14, 2008 at 5:20 am
I think it shouldn’t be just based on CO2. It should also depend on the value of your car. People say ones who can buy a £50+ car, they can afford the grand on the R.T, but not all G+ rated cars are valued over £50k.
Eg: How much is a 1994 BMW 540i? In the best condition it wouldn’t normally be more than £5k and that is abit optimistic! Now, that is at least a tenth of the money you spend on a brand new car and £1k is a fifth of what you’ve paid for your baby 540i. That is a big dfference and not everyone can afford it.
Enjoy,
March 14, 2008 at 10:03 am
What a joke, i wonder if his road tax will go through on his expences !!! this is the WRONG way to go about cutting carbon emmisions. its going to make people care less about their effect on the environment. Working class people work hard for what they get so why shouldn’t they have a little enjoyment out of the money they earn. We pay enough income tax. Oh and heres and idea why not sort out the state of the roads with some of the money being squeezes out of us.
March 14, 2008 at 10:49 am
This is just an attack on families.
Why isn’t the tax calculated on mileage multiplied by a C02 figure?
Under the present system you can never move your car and still pay an emissions tax!
What has happened to the labour party?
March 14, 2008 at 12:13 pm
Well done - they have just added to the pollution problem. Just think all the big gas guzzlers (and not just 4 x 4) registered before 2001 will still be around in 5 - 10 yrs time as they are usually built to last longer and still have cheaper VED, than cars after 2001. So the average joe has the average family with the average people carrier, that cost him £6000 for a 05 plate just a few months ago and in 5 yrs is worth around £500 - £1200 and the road tax is £340 (based on figures for 2010/11 and the usual increase they will put on). so as a trade in its worthless and ends up getting scrapped along with thousands more. This will reduce the average life span of a car and mean more are produced increasing co2 by other means.
March 14, 2008 at 12:31 pm
wish I never saw this article, just placed deposit on A BMW 525 SPORT, 1st car, age 23….
March 14, 2008 at 12:51 pm
Yet again we are being shafted by the goverment,
we do not all drive big cars because we think we look good some of us have medical issues which dictate what sort of cars we drive.
My newish Suzuki Grand Vitara is a diesel and has a 1.9ltr fuel efficient engine which I guess emits far less harmfull greenhouse gasses than my neighbour who drives an ford capri which smokes like a chimney and he is exempt from paying road tax
Go figure !!!!!!!
March 14, 2008 at 12:59 pm
Next year I will be fitting a 9v battery to a hummer and claiming its a “Hybrid” Will this help?
March 14, 2008 at 3:28 pm
this huge raise in tax is to pay for the designer outfittings that the MPs currently get from the tax payer, the same old excuse from the robbing government its for the environment. So far where is the proof that we have helped the environment. you should tax the car makers heavily not the car purchaser
March 14, 2008 at 3:44 pm
How close are we coming to an oppressive state? Its preposterous that the Labour government can levy ridiculous taxes on the already tax burdened motorist. We already pay through the nose for petrol and diesel, alongside yearly (if not every 6 monthly) rise in MOT costs as well as additional useless charges (congestion etc). I’m a proud Londoner and a ‘free motorist’. I decide using personal preference as opposed to government induced decsions as to what car I buy. I have worked hard for my money therefore if I want to drive around in luxury (e.g. Porsche SUV etc) than why not?? How can we - the motorist - keep taking huge tax hits like this? Indirectly trying to curb our choices in vehicle selection. Sooner or later we may be kicked out of our cars and left in the rain waiting 1h.05 mins for a damn bus!
We need to form a serious coalition and fight this extremist environmentalist induced tax or we’ll soon have a vehicle controlled state like Singapore.
This is England, land of the free. We should be educated enough to tackle issues like climate change in a sensible way without resorting to pinching hundreds of hard earnt pounds from many already strickened motorists.
March 14, 2008 at 4:07 pm
Ridiculous.
I’m 26 years old my primary car in which I cover 12-15000 miles in is a Renault Clio DCI 80 which puts out only 118g CO2/KM.
I own a house and planned to save up enough money to buy a low mileage Porsche Boxter ‘S’ as a bit of fun for a second car covering probably 2000-3000 miles maximum in per year. But just thought i’m young, before me and my fiance have kids it would be nice to own something a bit special and have a fun vehicle.
Then I heard about the road tax changes which is scuppering that plan. Do I want to pay £440 on top of insurance and running costs for a Porsche when I am covering less than 3000 miles a year - not likely.
This government is unscrupulous their argument is flawed and does not take into account vehicle usage the single most important factor. However powerful a car is it doesn’t pollute when parked up!
Cars are more than transportation they are a hobby so they need to factor things like this in so that exotic cars do not become a thing of the past.
March 14, 2008 at 5:46 pm
strike stike we need to band to geather people remember we ahve more power they could never handle all the legal action if we all said we were not going to tax are cars, we have the power come on am up for it but how does one start this up.
March 14, 2008 at 6:01 pm
I drive a Bmw X5 and saved my hard earned cash for years to treat my self to some thing I really wanted. I brought the car well before the goverment decided to publicly brand people like me some sort of pollution hazard. Its all just another chance to cash in. Its bad enough the petrol price is so high. I would like to hear them justify why this is necessary, if they said form now on anyone who buys these type of cars from new then that would be fine with me, but what about the people who already have the cars and now are unable to sell them as the value is nothing compared to what it was. You cant win, it’s day light robbery if we was in any other part of the world there would be riots.
March 14, 2008 at 6:31 pm
I purchased a diesel car in 2004 due to living 50 miles from work (due to not being able to afford London property prices). Diesel at the time I purchased this car cost 84.9p per litre, 3 1/2 years on I am now paying £1.10.9 per litre, this equates to a rise of just over 8p a litre per year. Labour must be suffering from amnesia with regards to the fuel blockades of September of 2000 because if these continual rises in tax against the motorist keep occurring they could find themselves in a similar situation and role on the next General Election.
For a so called socialist govenment the only people benefitting from these hikes are those who have money such as the upper class and can afford to run vehicles with a high Co2 banding.
It is also apparent to those living in London that Mayor Ken has of Febuary 08 introducted a green zone within the M25 motorway. At the moment it is only commercial vehicles over a specific age that have to pay to enter the zone but how long will it be before we will all get hit by that charge aswell…. As I remember the vote for Mayor Ken constiuents only stretched as far as Inner London so why are his plans stretching into the Outer London regions where no-one had a say in the vote for Mayor Ken?
March 14, 2008 at 6:37 pm
Very well said Ben. The labour government is running this country into the ground; leaving a right mess for the next party to clear up, which is going to take a while, by which time lots of idiots will have probably voted for labour and got them back in charge! I fail to see how raising taxes is going to help the planet, our actions as humans are insignificant, it’s simply a way to make money out of us to waste on rubbish like contributing to Europe for which we get hardly anything back and flittering the rest away on immigrants and buying houses for people who are too lazy to get a job.
March 14, 2008 at 7:28 pm
Env tax should be fiscally neutral … My road tax is up from 205 this year to 300 in 09/10; my rail ticket is 20% more than it was 18 months ago. The most polluting phase (in terms of toxicity) of a car’s lifecycle is production and disposal, this tax hardly encourages long term ownership. The system is a lazy man’s way of making money with ill conceived motives and a misguided sense of ultimate outcome … Thanks Darling, keep spending in the Middle East, at least we’re making inroads there!!
March 14, 2008 at 9:03 pm
tehy pass laws for children to be strapped in to car seats, good law for safety, but then they tax larger cars and seven seaters for those with larger families, taxin those who need it the most, typical for the overment, they should hang their heads in shame
March 14, 2008 at 9:07 pm
Another one out to line the governments pockets with the motorists hard earned already taxed earnings or is this one going to be used to pay our up and coming immigrant work force, giving them free health care oops sorry they give blood and we now pay them for it , child benefits for their children living in their own country not ours, while our own people in our country have to scrimp and save to make ends meet. Old age pensioners who don’t have enough money for food or heating and have to make choices between them.
What a sad state of affairs this country is in. Does the everyday hardworking man or woman not pay out enough?
I ask you the people do we need another government like this? NO! we need a government that will listen to the people, take notice of what the people say and actually do something about it. Cause no labour or tory government in the past 30 years has listened yet.
Failing that I’m gonna become an immigrant in my own country get all the handouts I can, screw the system for everything cos I’m sick of being screwed out of everything I earn!
March 14, 2008 at 9:14 pm
Come on guys, have a heart.
I think you’re being hard on the Chancellor. How else is he going to feather the pillows of his fellow countyrmen north of the border?
Have you any idea how much it costs to provide free University tuition?
March 14, 2008 at 9:59 pm
2x Landrovers and 1x Mitsubishi Shogun
OUCH !
Nuts i think il trade them in for a V8 just to upset the greens. Bring on global warming …..our summers arent hot enough yet!
When there are one billion Chinese whose sole ambition is to own a moped and use 1 gallon a week i dont think its gonna make any difference to the CO2 in the atmos what we drive.
Landrover……The best 4×4 by far OH YES
March 14, 2008 at 10:01 pm
Yet again its the private motorists that are stung. Can someone please tell me why a 7.5 tonne lorry pays only £165 tax for the year, and it hasn’t budged for some years. I drive these for a living, I’ve done 90,000 miles in the past couple of years. It does less that 15 mpg, and produces more c02. Why should the transport industry get away with it again, and again. I’m lucky if I do 6,000 miles a year in my car! C’mon Mr Darling fairs, fair!
March 15, 2008 at 12:25 am
oh dear, hasn’t anyone worked it out yet? the reason they are taxing us so much on are cars is because the oil is running out (shell didnt anounce that they had found any new oil this year) and they are trying to get as much out of us while they can, all car manufacturers could make an engine run on something other than petrol/diesel but they wont because of what would happen to the world economy, just get ready for when they announce that an engine can run on water and then they hike a tax on water!!!!
March 15, 2008 at 1:35 am
i have a ford galaxy as i have five kids my husband and i both work full time to support our family due to the high tax rise we have no choice but to sell our car as will become to expensive to tax. i will make sure that i teach my kids that this country did not support us bringing them up and they should work abroard so then they do not have to give any tax to the government as they where not prepared to help them grow and they will just screw them further.
March 15, 2008 at 9:15 am
disgraceful!!!! again as everyone has said ‘hitting the working class” YET AGAIN!!!!!!
tax this tax that, tax on tax, etc etc etc…. where does this stop!!!! Anyway, has anyone else noticed???? Should the government be setting an example or would that be too embarrassing for them to be diven around in a 1.0 yaris or a fiesta……..NO THEY ROLL IN JAGS, LANDROVERS, MERCS, !!!! GAS GUZZLERS AND FUNDED BY US !!!! DO AS I SAY, NOT AS I DO. IF ANYONE IS TACKLE THEM ABOUT HOW WE ARE RIPPED OFF FROM EVERY DIRECTION THEN COUNT ME IN!!! - Karl, doncaster.
March 15, 2008 at 11:13 am
Why are we just sitting back and accepting this?typical british attitude to sit behind closed doors and winge.please please please will some motoring organisation or national newspaper start a petition or something along them lines where the public views on this can be properly seen and heard.
March 15, 2008 at 12:05 pm
this country needs a revolt too remove these carpet beggars.u where alot freeer under heir hitler an other dictators than this lot.vote them out.all they are is a fungus on the neck off society
March 15, 2008 at 12:27 pm
why are we all moaning on here its about time we all stood together and did something about it. if this was france the country would be at a standstill now! revolution thats what we need to do ! government just make up taxes as they want ! wont be long before were paying for fresh air! bring back that petrol blockade ….
March 15, 2008 at 12:47 pm
This Government’s days are surely numbered. The British people are tolerant, but only to a point, but I’m sensing, like many others that we’ve been pushed too far this time. If were more like the French (actions first, then talking later) we’d have a revolution on our hands by now.
The silent majority, that is the honest, working, tax paying man/women in the street have consistently been seen as a cash cow to finance the lavish lifestyles of neo-corrupt politicians, civil servants and their families. It’s time we all made our feelings known, as it seems the longer any Government remain in power, the more open to corruption they become.
Personally, I’m not entirely convinced that global warming is anything to do with the human race, and believe it could possibly be part of the natural evolution of our planet. What I am sure of is this yet unsubstantiated issue has been convieniently used as a scaremongering tac-tic and an excuse to gain more revenue. Even if there is any truth in it, what’s the point of forcing Mr.Average, via stealth and overt taxation, to drive a slightly smaller car, when China is building one dirty coal fired Power Station every week, and there’s 20 Million Americans driving 5.0Lire V8 Pick-Up trucks, it makes no sense.
It also makes no sense that I can jump on a a C02 producing monster (aka a Boeing 737) and fly from the UK to Spain and back, for a third of the price it costs me to fill up my Mercedes A140, which is about enough fuel to get me from Yorkshire to Dover.
Throughout their term, this Labour Government, and particularly Gordon Brown as Chancellor, has sqwandered the wealth of this country, and now they’re playing the “green card” to force all us Mr. Averages to bail them out….sorry, it ain’t going to work this time, at the next election (or preferably before) they’re out! The British people are not fools Mr. Brown, we can see what you’re trying to do!
March 15, 2008 at 12:54 pm
If it was about a “green” issue then why not do away with road tax and just put it on the price of fuel. Saving a whole gov dept running costs and no one can avoid paying. The more you use the more you pay.Or is road tax just about cash rasing.
March 15, 2008 at 1:18 pm
The current taxation system for the motorist is not transparent, varies drastically depending on where you live and is not an efficient means of making us a greener nation.
There are now four main taxes on the motorist:
- VAT when you buy your car. I’ve got no complaints here, I don’t see any reason why cars should be exempt from this.
- Fuel Tax, fairly sensible, if a little steep. Because this is based on usage and efficiency it is a true green tax. It promotes the idea that you should walk to the shop and drive in a manner which conserves fuel. It’s fairly efficient to collect this tax and it’s relatively hard to avoid paying it.
- Road Tax, an arbitrary tax which takes no account of usage and no account of the total lifetime environmental impact of the vehicle. Jeeps are one of the greenest cars on the road because they last 30 years; a Ford Ka lasts less than ten on average. It’s not particularly efficient to collect this tax. This tax has an impact on the car you purchase, but no impact on how often you use it. In fact it possibly has the opposite effect - If I’m paying £300 a year I want to make the most of it.
- Local Taxes. Thankfully limited to the ill conceived whims of single a man at present. These are hugely inefficient to collect and, as with road tax, take no account of overall usage of the vehicle and total lifetime environmental impact.
We’re lucky enough to run two cars which are likely to have a longer than average lifetime. Unfortunately my wife’s Audi Cabriolet, with a 1.8 engine will soon cost £400 per year. My Alfa GTA could well see me in debtors prison.
If the objective is genuinely to make us a greener nation in respect of our vehicle habits then a simple three tier approach would suffice:
1 – Purchase Tax – one off tax on vehicles, this is exists now. It’s called VAT.
2 – Fuel tax is green and is fair based on usage and fuel efficiency. It’s transparent and can lead people to change their usage habits. Cutting back the frequency we use our cars for short journeys would have a far greater impact than getting them to buy three Ford KA’s rather than one Jeep.
3- Legislation aimed at manufacturers to reduce the number of new inefficient vehicles hitting our roads. Either limiting the numbers of high emission vehicles a manufacturer can sell or totally removing them sale over a ten to twenty year period. If you impose a law on a large business then generally they will adhere to it.
The fixed annual fee that takes no account of how you use your vehicle and excessive local fees which people have little option but to pay should have no place in a fair and transparent tax system.
But of course this really has very little to do decreasing emissions and a lot more to do with raising revenues.
March 15, 2008 at 3:14 pm
Stealth taxes yet again - forget the green environmental sales talk, that’s absolute rubbish, it’s the latest bandwagon everyone is jumping on. It would be impossible to mint enough money for this government, they’d still want more to waste on stupid ideas and wars.
Rip off Britain is here to stay, by all means help third world countries - but don’t turn this one into a third world state in the process!
What we need is what used to be called people power, I