Increased Tax on older cars

[Mike2007]

People with less money tend to drive older cars, thats a fact. Now our government is going to add more duty to our road tax for older vehicles!
If I am correct its nothing to do with my emmisions (as they pass on my MOT), but just more *******s to steal money from those who don't have any!

 

[xerxes]

The excuse is that it's to do with carbon dioxide emissions (as distinct from genuine pollutants which, as you say, are checked at MoT time). It feeds from the fantasy science that predicts the imminent destruction of life on earth and ignores the fact that cars (and these cars in question, especially) produce a very small percentage of total carbon dioxide. It makes a good excuse to increase taxes, apparently.

It seems possible that with the threat of a backbench Labour revolt, and with the weakest chancellor in British history, the proposed taxes could be changed. But the government is so short of money, that this will be difficult to achieve.

British vehicle users now pay one billion pounds a week in taxes. The government is planning to take 60 per cent of next year's additional revenue in motoring taxes (reported in Daily Telegraph Motoring, 12.7.2008).

If implemented, this will bring real pain for less well off motorists; either they pay the extra tax, or they trade in their cars (now much reduced in value) for vehicles too small for their needs, with secondhand prices inflated by the chancellor's distortion of the market.

Good, isn't it?

 

[Mike2007]

Well the prisons are full, so people defaulting on their car tax will only add to the problem!
If the government goes for those without the ability to pay and levies more tax on them after fuel rises, speeding tax etc etc
If people stop driving a car, in many cases they stop working>so don't pay revenue on wages paid......LESS tax taken overall....bad maths I would say! Plus unemployment benefit.

Wow, thats political!

 

[pompeyal]

BRING BACK THE SHERIFF of NOTTINGHAM he was a saint compared with the theives we now have running this country, its no wonder the GOOD HARD WORKING british people seek refuse in other countries.....ALAN BROWN

 

[Beeches]

There is a very easy way to concentrate the governments mind on overtaxing the car owner. It is quite legal.

ALL AGREE TO STAY AT HOME FOR ONE DAY. THE SAME DAY, OBVIOUSLY.

No power, no TV, no radio, no transport, no anything, I guess, because somewhere in every organisation in a critical position is a PBM. (Poor bl--dy motorist.

Beeches.

PS. Why can't garages show petrol prices as £xx + tax, just to remind us all how much tax we pay on fuel. Builders merchants do it on their materials.

 

[AndrewSchofield]

Mike 2007 - definately an unfair tax on people who can't afford to buy a brand new hybrid car. We have a Land Rover Freelander 2.0 Tdi and get at least 30mpg out of it bobbing around and about (i only get 38 out of my 1.3 52plate fiesta). We live out in the sticks in North Derbyshire and sometime help out on my sister-in-law's farm so need something that can handle itself in the fields and on the roads in bad weather. It was registered in Dec 2000 so the tax is based on engine size and not emmisions and yet every year when it goes for MOT the guy doing the emissions test always looks at us and says ' thats very low, i better check it' and does the test again. I don't know why the emissions are so low, and frankly i'm not bothered but if we drive an economical (fuel wise) car and it has low emissions i don't see why we should have to pay so much tax just because its engine is more then 1.8litres.

So pleased that fuel prices have come down again now but how long will it be before the government slap on that tax increase they suspended earlier in the year??

Beeches - great idea - i love it - but problem with these kind of ideas is that you'll never get everyone to do it and unless everyone does it, no-one will notice. I've had numerous e-mails about not buying fuel from Esso and BP to hit the big players hardest - if everyone went elsewhere for fuel this may work but you'll never get everyone (or even close to everyone) to do these things!

 

[Donkmeister]

Problem with that is that the oil companies make pennies on each litre sold. It's the tax that really hikes it up.

Plus the supermarkets get their petrol from big oil anyway. If you're running an engine you're buying their product.

My car's a funny case. I've got the 160bhp version, but if I had the slower 135bhp version I'd be in the next tax bracket up! It returns better MPG too so lower running costs!

 

[Steve]

Yes, dont pay any attention to those silly emails about not buying petrol from certain companies. My local Morrisons petrol gets their petrol delivered in a tanker that says "Shell" down the side! The big companies will still make money even if all their own forecourts close.

 

[2scoops0406]

I would have thought that how much CO2 you produce is also directly linked to how many miles a year you do, so how does a blanket hike in duty address this then?

 

[xerxes]

2scoops: you speak as if we have a government capable of logical and constructive thinking.

No doubt they believe that persuading people to scrap old cars and buy new replacements will stimulate the economy and fill the Treasury coffers with substantial sums of tax.

So what if the emissions produced by manufacturing a car exceed what it will produce during its life on the road?