simoncc said:
The government's complicated method of linking car tax to emissions is needlessly bureaucratic and expensive and based on a desire to raise cash, not cut emissions. Scrap the tax and put the fuel tax up, so someone pays tax on every gallon they buy and use rather than on the irrelevant issue of what car they own. A Fiesta driven for 20,000 miles per year chucks out more CO2 and causes more congestion than a 4x4 driven for 1,000 so the Fiesta driver should pay more road tax not less.
The current car tax system is like the council tax on houses. Big house big tax, small house small tax, regardless of the council services actually used. Big car big tax, small car small tax is not the best way to encourage less car use. Tax on fuel is obviously the best way to link car tax directly to fuel used and congestion caused.
That sort of happens already doesn’t it – I mean, there is already tax on fuel, so the more you use the more you pay. I think the point of linking VED/Tax to the emissions of the vehicle is done so for many reasons – encourages people to think about buying less polluting car – encourages manufacturers to become more efficient – bigger cars take more energy to make/deliver/dispose of etc.
Regarding your council tax analogy, I know what your getting at, but the difference in the fuel tax /duty paid for doing 20K miles in a fiesta and 1K in a 4x4 is going to put the relative rates of vehicle duty right into the shade - your fiesta driver inthe above situation will pay far more tax than the 4x4 owner overall.
In short – I think the tax system is pretty fair in that the more polluting the car and the further you drive, the more tax you pay.
Also, read the other day that many London councils are thinking of extending Richmond councils idea of charging bigger cars more for residents parking permits and also introducing scaled parking charges for all – the higher your VED/Tax the more you’re charged per hour to park.
