Posted on 03/19/2007 2:29:13 AM PDT by Stoat
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.
Really? Well, I'll be dogged. I guess you do learn something new every day. Thanks.
We are in violent agreement. I worked in Bristol for 177 days in 2003 and always looked forward to getting a diesel from Thrifty at Heathrow. When they offered a diesel 4x4 Mitsubishi Samurai (we call it a Montero) I jumped at the chance - was king of the road for the following 3 weeks, everybody cleared out of my way. Parking was impossible, though.
I think the Mitsubishi was probably a Shogun - confusung when they call them different things in different countries!
If you liked the Mitsu, you'll love the new 3.6 turbo diesel V8 in the Range Rover which outs out 472lb of torque at 1750rpm and nearly 30mpg! Rumour has it being fitted to Jaguars soon to go with the 2.7 diesel already fitted.
Parking in England is always a challenge - cities designed for horses don't make many allowances for the motor car! :)
Shogun - now I remember. Old age is h*ll - memory being the second thing to go and I can never remember the first. :-) Thanks! My wife came over for my last 10 days in Bristol - we had been to London/Portsmouth (I'm an ex-USN guy) many times but not anywhere else. Went to Bath and she absolutely marveled at the parking/lack thereof. Still miss the right-hand drive, gearshift in left hand - felt like a James Bond character on the M4 - never got used to the rear-view mirrors from the right-hand driver's seat, though.
Automotive Ping :-)
Nice wheels :-)
Unfortunately, many far, far less expensive cars will fall into a similar road tax category as this marvellous saloon, as judged by emissions.
More nails in the coffins of two classic British marques..
Agreed, a terrible shame all 'round.
Hopefully this will be the last straw which will serve to mobilize the public to finally nail shut the coffin of the Labour government. Our British Friends deserve far better.
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