Owners of Gas Guzzling Cars to be Hit by Five-Fold Tax Increase

Owners of gas-guzzling cars to be hit by five-fold tax increase
By Severin Carrell

29 May 2005

Motorists who drive fuel-hungry BMWs, people carriers and Range Rovers face a five-fold increase in road tax under radical plans to combat Britain's spiralling greenhouse gas emissions.

The proposals are being studied by transport and environment ministers after it emerged that car buyers are ignoring warnings about the dangers of climate change by increasingly choosing luxury cars, larger MPVs and 4x4s with large, powerful engines.

The Government's influential energy conservation agency, the Energy Saving Trust (EST), has told ministers the only way to force motorists to buy "green" cars is to introduce a new top rate of road tax as high as £900 a year.

The new tax - more than five times the current rate of £165 a year for petrol engines - would have a major impact, by catching many popular larger family cars such as the Vauxhall Sharan or Ford Galaxy people carriers.

http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/transport/story.jsp?story=642355

http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/transport/story.jsp?story=642355


Owners of gas-guzzling cars to be hit by five-fold tax increase
By Severin Carrell

29 May 2005

Motorists who drive fuel-hungry BMWs, people carriers and Range Rovers face a five-fold increase in road tax under radical plans to combat Britain's spiralling greenhouse gas emissions.

The proposals are being studied by transport and environment ministers after it emerged that car buyers are ignoring warnings about the dangers of climate change by increasingly choosing luxury cars, larger MPVs and 4x4s with large, powerful engines.

The Government's influential energy conservation agency, the Energy Saving Trust (EST), has told ministers the only way to force motorists to buy "green" cars is to introduce a new top rate of road tax as high as £900 a year.

The new tax - more than five times the current rate of £165 a year for petrol engines - would have a major impact, by catching many popular larger family cars such as the Vauxhall Sharan or Ford Galaxy people carriers.

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said to myself, what did Al Gore suddenly take over the WH? This is the way it should be unfortunately it won't be here any time soon. Good for the Brits.

.. that in America, they get TAX BREAKS for ultra large SUV guzzlers. Remember the nice little tax breaks for the Humvees and etc. if you claim it's for biz???

...It was originally, basically, a U.S. Taxpayer paid for FREE SUV!

Originally, It was the ability to write off your taxes a "work vehicle" (with a weight up to 6000 lbs.) up to $100,000.00 U.S. Dollars!:wow: :crazy:
I think the Tax write-off was cut back to $25,000.00 AND, I think the the latest Tax-Cut bill that just passed, eliminated the "Alternate Fuel Vehicle" Write-off (which I don't think was ever over $5000.00). :banghead::argh:

The Brits are eons ahead of us. Bush has turned back the clock in America.

Even he isn't that powerful, though he thinks his denial will make it go away.

about 30 MPG at an avg speed of 70 MPH! Very Hyundia-isk

But it won't happen with the current administration in power :eyes:

here.

if it's global warming you're worried about. A car that gets 20mpg and is driven 10 miles each day is doing less damage than one which gets 40mpg but driven 30 miles each day.

We have to face it - this is one tax that should not depend on the ability to pay, but on the amount of damage your doing to the planet. Don't think of it as a tax, think of it as a fine.