cster

To base road tax on emissions (bands) that are will vary enormously according to how the car is driven - especially with super/turbo charging.
I make this point having had my off boost power tastefully improved following a JGM remap on a standard 2.5 PPP STI.
It seems ludicrous to have this system which basically treats all incomes the same and further penalises the poor by not taking into account annual mileage.
I would say it is less just than the poll tax, but easier to collect (suckers)

Leslie

Suerly it is an attempt to persuade people to buy cars which do not pollute so much as others, and also to make a lot more cash out of the motorist-in retrospect of course!

Les

MattW

Also persuades manufacturers to produce cleaner carsas they won't sell so many of the higher co2 producers.

PeteBrant

Stick VED on fuel - Job done.

Have a seperate flat rate congestion charge to control traffic flow where needed.

MattW

What about trucks who use thousands of gallons per year. Increase in fuel duty would have an inflationary effect on all goods.

PeteBrant

Or force them onto railways.

I do not for one second see how it is at all fair that a pensioners that might drive to the shops once a week, could have to pay the same VED rate as a company rep or haulier doing thousands of miles a week.

MattW

Turbo2

It's the only fair system and the simplest: the more fuel you consume, the more you pay. What's wrong with that? Fair for 3000 miles per year old ladies and fair for 50,000 miles per year reps as well as everyone in between.

In fact not only fair for all UK drivers, but it would also make any foreigner who needs to fill up here help contribute a bit to our road maintenance (if the Treasury ever release the money to do this, of course!)

SJ_Skyline

Since when has "fair" (or common sense) been used to derive government policy?

MattW

It isn't fair though.

The cost of hiring the rep to do 50000 miles a year would go up, therfore the goods he sells would go up. The cost to deliver to the rural shop would go up, so prices would also. Everything would go up in price, it's not like a company is going to absorb the increase is it.

speedking

Agree with all above.

Note that the EU are now thinking of only allowing the tyres to be replaced with the same model as were on the car when it was sold. This stops you fitting those high drag tyres that really reduce fuel consumption The effect compared to fitting a roofbox, or towing a caravan must be negligible. Probably on a par with driving with the window open, or turning on the aircon.

PeteBrant

So you bring in concessions, based on current profits - And lets face it, company reps aren't the VAT on the fuel the general consumer does anyway.

You will have a pretty tough time convinving me that Mrs Miggins should pay the same VED rates at MutliConglomerate plc so that they don't have to reduce thier multi million pound profits by a few thousand.

MattW

All sounds a little bit too marxist for me, next thing we'll be talking how it isn't fair someone has a bigger house than the next person.

edited to say - Mrs Miggins doesn't, she will pay the rate for her car not a truck

PeteBrant

Well quite - which will be the same rate as a company rep for, say, Shell. Or a service engineer for BT.

Who both make, what is it - well over a billion pounds a month profit?

I don't have a problem with reaping the rewards for hard work - I just think the VED system is unfair on those least able to pay.

Especially if you are going to bring in a system where the emissions of your vehicle have a direct impact on what you pay. We know, for an absolute fact, that a Toyata prius doing 50,000 miles a year, will pump much more CO2 into the atmosphere than Mrs Miggins' Land Rover that does 3,000 a year. Yet the VED, based on emission, charges Mrs Miggin more.

That cannot be right.

MattW

Ah but that is a different argument.

We know, for an absolute fact, that Mrs Miggin's Toyata prius doing 50,000 miles a year, will pump much more CO2 into the atmosphere than Lord Snooty's Land Rover that does 3,000 a year. Yet the VED, based on emission, charges Lord Snooty more.

PeteBrant

Yeah, that's a fair point.