UK: Road tax doubles to curb ‘gas guzzlers’ (£400 tax to be slapped on 4x4s)

The Times (U.K.) ^ | March 19, 2007 | Philip Webster

[Stoat]

Road tax doubles to curb ‘gas guzzlers’

 

Philip Webster, Political Editor

 

Gordon Brown is planning to double road tax for the country’s most polluting gas-guzzling cars in Wednesday’s Budget, The Times understands.

As the Chancellor tries to enhance his green credentials before he takes over as Prime Minister, he is expected to say that the current tax of £210 for the 225,000 least fuel efficient cars purchased brand new since last April — including most 4x4s and sports cars — will rise steadily.

Over the next two years it will increase to at least £400, it is understood. Owners of many other cars are expected to face an inflation or modest above-inflation rise but owners of the least polluting cars will enjoy tax reductions, it is believed by insiders.

Mr Brown’s measures will fall well short of the demands of the green lobby. Environmental groups have called for road tax to be raised to between £1,000 to £2,000 for the worst-offending vehicles in terms of carbon dioxide emissions in an effort to price them off the road. But this has been rejected by the Chancellor who is clearly aware of the outcry that greeted David Cameron’s proposals last week to increase taxation on air travel.

An ally of Mr Brown said last night that the Chancellor wanted polluting activities to better reflect their costs to the environment, but not to impose taxes at a prohibitive level and to balance any increases in tax for more polluting choices with incentives for greener alternatives. People in the middle bands of road tax could face above-inflation increases of up to £15.

In his Budget last year the Chancellor created a new top band G of vehicle excise duty for new cars with emissions over 225 grams per kilometre. At £210 a year this was £20 higher than the next band. Those in the band — labelled the Chelsea Tractors — include BMW X5s and Range Rovers. At present there are 225,000 of them.

Mr Brown made plain that the new band was not retrospective and did not apply to 4x4s and other heavily emitting cars bought before last April. They were put into Band F and will remain there.

The Treasury has maintained that the road tax system is structured to allow all drivers the option of choosing a more environmentally friendly vehicle in a lower tax band.

Friends of the Chancellor expect him to spare ordinary motorists large increases in road tax as a way of differentiating himself from Mr Cameron, whom he will try to portray as out of touch with public opinion.

Labour MPs say that Mr Cameron made a mistake by allowing the suggestion to take root that he wanted to force people off planes and on to trains, or penalise them for taking more than one overseas holiday a year. An ally of Mr Brown said: “Green taxes have a role to play in influencing people’s choices, but it is not their job to make particular choices unaffordable, or the exclusive preserve of the very wealthy.

He added that the approach of targeting tax increases, and providing incentives to choose more fuel efficient cars, was vital if politicians were going to take the public with them on climate change.

Eco-friendly cars with tiny emissions in Band A will continue to pay no tax. Sales of 4x4s have slumped by 28 per cent in the United States and are already falling in Britain.

Road tax on the lowest-emission vehicles is now zero. But since electric cars are already exempt, no new cars will actually qualify for the zero rating, as the carbon emissions required (less than 100g per kilometre) has been set so low.

Dave Timms, economics campaigner with Friends of the Earth, said that the Chancellor had to put climate change at the heart of the Budget, rather than merely “tinker in the margins”.

“Mr Brown must come forward with a comprehensive package of measures that tax polluting activities, make it easier and cheaper for people to cut their carbon dioxide emissions and demonstrate that he is prepared to take this issue seriously,” he said.

[Stoat]

See Also:

The Sun Online - Sun Budget £400 tax to be slapped on 4x4s

BBC NEWS Business Budget 'to hit gas guzzlers hard'

*****************************************

Biography of Gordon Brown

Rt Hon Gordon Brown MP
Chancellor of the Exchequer

Gordon Brown was appointed as Chancellor of the Exchequer on 2 May 1997. He has been the MP for Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath since 2005 and was the MP for Dunfermline East from 1983 to 2005. He was Opposition spokesperson on Treasury and Economic Affairs (Shadow Chancellor) from 1992.

Mr Brown was born in 1951 and educated at Kirkcaldy High School and Edinburgh University where he gained 1st Class Honours and then a Doctorate. He was Rector of Edinburgh University and Chairman of the University Court between 1972 and 1975. From 1976 to 1980, Mr Brown lectured at Edinburgh University and then Caledonian University before taking up a post at Scottish TV (1980 - 1983).

After becoming an MP, Mr Brown was the Chair of the Labour Party Scottish Council (1983 - 1984). Before becoming Shadow Chancellor he held two other senior posts on the Opposition front bench - Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury (1987 - 1989) and Shadow Trade and Industry Secretary (1989 -1992).

Mr Brown has had a number of works published including Maxton, The Politics of Nationalism and Devolution and Where There is Greed. He has edited a number of books including John Smith: Life and Soul of the Party and Values, Visions and Voices.

Outside of work, Mr Brown`s interests include football, tennis and film.

[Jedi Master Pikachu]

Europe pinglist

This is to reduce the amount of pictures posted. Does posting a lot of pictures make FR more expensive to run?

[Dallas59]

Why don't they just ban cars and make everyone ride bikes?

[Stoat]

Motorcycle Hooligan / 4x4 ping

[Stoat]

4x4 / offroad ping

[Stoat]

Why don't they just ban cars and make everyone ride bikes?

shhhh...Gordon Brown (or Algore) might hear you   :-(

[Stoat]

Thanks very much for pinging your list :-)

[Jedi Master Pikachu]

Sure thing.

[tgusa]

Pretty soon the biggest thing you'll be able to find over there will be the Smart Car. And this, from the people who gave us the Aston Martin and Jaguar. Sad -

[Jacquerie]

Concern for the earth is a smokescreen. The actual purpose is to raise more taxes from the sheeple.

[Eclectica]

If Americans adopt the same tax, we'd be deducting it from our income tax returns. Go figure.

[Stoat]

Pretty soon the biggest thing you'll be able to find over there will be the Smart Car. And this, from the people who gave us the Aston Martin and Jaguar. Sad -

It is indeed sad.  Along with people's inability to afford 4x4's and large cars will come job losses from auto manufacturers as well as an increase in death and injury due to road accidents, which will place a greater strain on the already strained healthcare system.

[taildragger]

As if Jaguar and Land Rover are not enough of a burden on Ford's balance sheet.

This is Euro Socialism out of control, and this is what the NYT and the whole North East thinks is enlightened thought that we should emulate?

Note, he wanted to tax holidays such as flights on an airliner, which are bad carbon wise via his mindset. This might be great for Florida real estate, because many may leave and never come back....

[yankeedame]

WAY off the subject, I know but can anyone tell me what on earth these ribbon thingies are for?

While poking around on google under "Vintage cars" I came across countless photo of vintage cars -- all makes and models -- with these ribbons on them.

[britemp]

They are Wedding Cars. The ribbons are tied on before taking the bride to the church.

[britemp]

'Pretty soon the biggest thing you'll be able to find over there will be the Smart Car. And this, from the people who gave us the Aston Martin and Jaguar. Sad -'

Not so, you just have to drive a vehicle with a diesel engine. Pretty much everything in the UK is available as a diesel and they put out far less CO2 than petrol/gasoline engines. Even the biggest Jaguar, the XJ6 comes with a superb twin-turbo diesel which drops it below the top band.

But don't get me wrong - I totally disagree with this green tax nonsense and we will soon get the chance to kick Labour out for good!

[agere_contra]

That's quite interesting that the wedding ribbon thing is not as well known as I would have thought. Thank you for your post.

[Sarajevo]

It's OK to have a "big gas guzzler" as long as the government gets it's cut, that is until the government thinks of another way to suck more "taxes" out of the populace.

[mewzilla]

...will enjoy tax reductions, it is believed by insiders...

I have one word: Suckers!

[mewzilla]

It's OK to have a "big gas guzzler" as long as the government gets it's cut, that is until the government thinks of another way to suck more "taxes" out of the populace.

In my neck of the woods that's called extortion. Unless, of course, it's the government doing the extorting :(