More road tax for 'gas guzzlers'

[Dieter]

"Gas-guzzling vehicles should pay an additional £150 in road tax because of the extra damage they do to the environment, the Government’s energy efficiency watchdog said. This week the Energy Saving Trust will recommend a new road tax band for the least-efficient vehicles. Most 4x4s and many luxury saloons and people carriers would be included and would pay £320 a year, compared with the present top rate of £170."

Hi all,

Just read this. This probably applies to ALL vehicles with the new Governmental 'red' classification (most Mercedes etc.). So you pay extra tax on the fuel you buy (cos you buy more ) and the result of this is to be taxed even more . I wondered why the colour codings were spread so thinly (i.e. over 45% of cars get a 'red''.). It's so extra tax from that 45% of vehicles may be (justifiably ) extracted.

The simplest (and fairest) way round this problem is to incorporate road tax into fuel price etc. but I doubt this will ever happen.

It's not as if motorists produce the most CO2 etc.. 25 % of CO2 emissions are related to energy use in the home (including generating power stations etc.).

I wouldn't mind so much but why is it we're the only Country in Europe without access to Biodiesel? Also I don't see too many 'real' Government initiatives to lower emissions? Thus it appears our (so-called) 'green' Government may talk 'green' but is really only after out money!

Rant over.

Cheers,

 

[fuzzer]

this is annoying to say the least ......

What about Crushing busses over 4 years old ? or does everyone forget those ancient vehicles puffing out the black smoke ?

 

[sparkyspost]

I wouldn't mind so much but why is it we're the only Country in Europe without access to Biodiesel? Also I don't see too many 'real' Government initiatives to lower emissions? Thus it appears our (so-called) 'green' Government may talk 'green' but is really only after out money!

I think you are on to something there!

If only they'd wear the stripey jumpers to tell us what theiving toerags they really were!

Damn them.

Grrrr....

Sparky

 

[LazyBob]

Bang on Dieter - we've already paid vast amounts of tax when buying the car - car tax (not road fund licence) on a £70K car is considerably more than that of a £7K car (10 times to be exact) but does a £70K car produce 10 times as much CO2 - no.

I don't actually think the government is anti-car, all they want is revenue. If everyone really did stop driving and take public transport they'd be up the creek.

Taxing motorists is easy, we'll pay any amount from petrol so we don't have to sit next to a stinking junky on a bus that only takes us close to where we want to go at round about the time we want to be there.

All these revenue raising ideas cost nearly as much to administer as they generate, by far the most efficient way to raise revenue is by raising VAT or income tax. But no, they've promised not to do that, so they need to do it another way. Look at the 20% (10% employers & 10% employees) increase in National Insurance contributions - that should have raised £10bn but somehow Mr Brown forgot that it is the government that pays the employees portion for the NHS (the biggest employer by far in the UK) and the Civil Service plus numerous other 'employers'. What a complete waste of £4bn.

They don't seem to be trumpeting how useful that revenue was in the run up to this election - why? Probably because they squandered the remaining £6bn trying to figure out how to recoup the 'lost' £4bn by tweaking existing taxes.

Rant over and I'll continue to vacuum up the worlds oil supply at three times the rate of an A-class regardless of how expensive petrol is.

 

[guydewdney]

i would convert to LPG - but the way the govt is going they are going to tax the hell out of that too - making it pointless..

21mpg - 8 grand a year on petrol

from inland revenue:-

Road fuel gases
Following consultation on future support for road fuel gases the Government has considered the evidence presented on the use of these fuels. In line with the principles set out in the proposed alternative fuels framework, the Government has decided that the environmental benefits offered by liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) no longer justify the level of duty differential it currently receives which is almost double the rate of any other EU country. Consistent with the environmental benefit and the new framework on alternative fuels, the rate for LPG will be gradually increased over time towards a level more commensurate with its environmental benefit.

The emissions evidence for natural gas (NG) vehicles suggests that they offer considerable additional benefits over conventional fuels, particularly on air quality. The Government has therefore decided that the duty differentials for NG will be held constant for a further three years

 

[pepper&boulou]

I think its time the Brittish motoring public started to protest contiental style as we're just doormats at the mo.

 

[Robbo]

This week the Energy Saving Trust will recommend a new road tax band for the least-efficient vehicles. Most 4x4s and many luxury saloons and people carriers would be included and would pay £320 a year, compared with the present top rate of £170.

This doesnt mean that it is actually going to happen though. It hasnt been announced by Gordon yet, has it? My guess it will depend on what the political climate is after the election and who is chancellor. I am not sure Labour would necessarily want to piss off its 'Middle England' electorate in this way.

 

[mb240]

Most 4x4s and many luxury saloons and people carriers would be included and would pay £320 a year, compared with the present top rate of £170."

Hang on a moment - you mean the top rate of road tax is UK£170?????

Christ almighty, I pay €760/year in Ireland for 2.4l, and the top rate is over €1500/year now.

I feel like I'm in Communist Russia...........

 

[KillerHERTZ]

how much is your petrol though? 84.9p a litre here

 

[stwat]

how much is your petrol though? 84.9p a litre here

Where are you buying that from??? Its more like 89p a litre where i am

Stu

 

[calum]

i would convert to LPG - but the way the govt is going they are going to tax the hell out of that too - making it pointless..

and having just booked a Eurotunnel trip for next week, I see you can't take a vehicle with an LPG tank in the tunnel.

 

[PJH]

I think its time the Brittish motoring public started to protest contiental style as we're just doormats at the mo.

There is an opportunity to protest next month... not sure of exact date yet.

 

[PJH]

.... This week the Energy Saving Trust will recommend a new road tax band for the least-efficient vehicles. ....

My W124 is 2.8l and does about 27-28 mpg. My previous car was a Rover 214 that did 40-42 mpg.
Although the Rover engine was half the size and power it didn't do twice the mpg. Therefore I consider the W124 to be more EFFICIENT, but less economical.
Do politicians understand the difference between efficiency and economy?

If we use less fuel the Govt will receive less tax, so they will put the tax up more to compensate.

 

[Mozzer]

Dieter

What website can you go to to find out whether your car is "red" or not ?

Cheers

S

 

[portzy]

Do politicians understand the difference between efficiency and economy?

If we use less fuel the Govt will receive less tax, so they will put the tax up more to compensate.

Point 1. I used to work in Local Government. Believe me, its OK to waste money and resources providing you do it efficiently


Point 2. Ohhhhhh, yes. (Said like the Churchill noding dog )

 

[LazyBob]

As for taking action... How about a day when we all take our number plates off. That would shock the government when they realised that it's only goodwill that allows them to track us, congestion charge us, fine us for speeding, prevent petrol theft, give us parking tickets, check our road fund licence etc etc.

If even 1% of the cars on the road had no number plate there would be way too many for the police to cope with.

Oohhh - that's getting a bit bolshy eh?

 

[Brett]

89p a litre? I laugh at your 89p a litre.....97.9p a litre for diesel on the Isle of Arran. That is a short hop on a ferry from the mainland but is representative of costs in the Highlands and Islands.

 

[Thmsshaun]

Where are you buying that from??? Its more like 89p a litre where i am

Stu

Im getting it for around 80-82p at the minute. Think some action is needed for sure and i like the idea of everyone taking there number plates off

 

[Shude]

How about tax on aero fuel, those things drink millions of gallons of the stuff and it's all tax-free. This would push up prices, but right now running a plane seems more economically viable than running a car!

 

[chatteris]

How about tax on aero fuel, those things drink millions of gallons of the stuff and it's all tax-free. This would push up prices, but right now running a plane seems more economically viable than running a car!

I agree aero fuel should be taxed at the same level as petrol, no catalitic converters on planes putting out all that pollution straight into the atmosphere.How much of the pollution in london comes from cars and how much from heathrow?