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?
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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!.
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!!
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.
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?
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.
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.
Conned and robbed again by this labour goverment. to get extra money in the pot cut MPs wages!
Should have put road tax up a lot higher.
What is a Cayenne S doing in a town anyway?
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
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).