BRITAIN IS SET FOR a dramatic re-working of its car taxation regime, according to rumours leaking out of Whitehall.

Using CO2 emissions as its basis, civil servants are working on plans that could result in congestion charges, road tax and even company car charges based on engine size from 2008.

According to two separate sources, the government is planning a nominal ‘limit’ for CO2 emissions of 173g/km. Anybody who purchases a car that exceeds the limit can expect to pay increasingly severe taxes through, it’s thought, Vehicle Excise Duty (the tax disc) and variable congestion charges.

In effect the government is saying that a diesel Vauxhall Zafira 1.9 CDTi (167g/km) or BMW 320d (153g/km) are as ‘much car as anybody needs’.

The plan has the added benefit of penalising off-roaders of all sizes. Even the Honda CR-V 2.2 CDTi returns 177g/km and few other 4x4s creep under 200g/km.

This move would also lay the foundations for much wider use of variable-charge local congestion-charging schemes. They will be based on the new ‘tag and beacon’ technology (using a charge card read by a roadside reader) that will be rolled out in London from 2008.

Central Manchester and individual busy roads such as A34 in Oxfordshire and the eastern M4 are set to be tolled before the end of the decade.

Autocar has learnt that lobby-ists Powershift and Transport for London are working on a paper that will propose that the £8 per-day Congestion Charging scheme should shift to variable charges, based on CO2 emissions. This rumour has been backed by a report last week from academics which suggests cars should be charged £3.60 per day and trucks £11.40.

‘Tag and beacon’ could also be adopted across Europe. France and Germany are switching to new number plates which are likely to have an electronic tag built in. Britain is also testing the same idea, suggesting a pan-European scheme.

"In effect the government is saying that a diesel Vauxhall Zafira 1.9 CDTi (167g/km) or BMW 320d (153g/km) are as ‘much car as anybody needs’.

The plan has the added benefit of penalising off-roaders of all sizes. Even the Honda CR-V 2.2 CDTi returns 177g/km and few other 4x4s creep under 200g/km."

Thats basically the jist of this thread! Basically, i think the government can go **** themselves.. if they keep imposing more and more charges on us, more and more taxes to pay for their damn nanny state and their collapsing pension system.. i am gonna sell up, give the IR or should i say HMR&C a big one finger salute and sod right off..

No wonder why the emigration rates are going off the scales, crap like this..
If we can't enjoy our cars, and are crippled by taxes in everything we do, then sportsman im gonna join you in Dubai! whats there to stay for? the brilliant weather?

I have residential Visa for Dubai, Turkey and Pakistan, so could dissapear quite quickly i must say..

The Grass Is Always Greener On The Other Side

I for one certainly did'nt vote for this government and as for the UK, I definately would'nt jump ship just yet.

I dont see how some of the governments hair brain schemes would ever work? It will certainly take many years to impliment most of them. For example there are thousands of motorists on our roads who dont have any Insurance!!! and in my opinion untill they solve this problem how dare they ask the honest citizen to pay more because of Co2 emmission levels! It will just mean the tax is set rather high in the first place to cover the estimated losses from those people who dont tax their vehicles at all ( the same happens to your insurance )

As for the spy in your car aka the Black Box for cars ( ok for new cars ) how would you monitor the millions of older vehicles? Personally I feel they could have a similar revolt on their hands as Mrs T did with the popular Poll Tax

Getting back to the Uk issue - why is so many people are flooding to Britain seeking shelter and a better life

Here are a few of my thoughts:-

Generally it is a very safe place to live
Democracy
Temperate climate
Beautifull and diverse landscape
Not subject to any natural geological faults
History
Very High standard of living
Good education system
Health service ( could be better )
Excellent sports
Great Beers
The Range Rover Sport is built here

I rest my case  
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While I'm not so sure much of this will actually come to fruition (judging on our current governments performance regarding promise-keeping) it does make my blood boil when you hear this kind of thing. It does seem that in our governments ever present lust to fill their coffers with tax pounds it seems to be ensuring that the only people who will be able to enjoy life in the UK are either the very wealthy or the disabled, lesbian single-parent!

Oops, turned into a Daily Mail reader there for a minute...

As with a lot of the governments policies you have to wonder what the drivers are. Is it a scheme purely to make money? Are they trying to make environmental difference by turning car owners to public transport? Have they thought about how they can provide a decent alternative to car transport?

It doesn't surprise me in the least why the emigration figures are increasing but as MDP says, is the grass always greener? It depends what you want out of life I expect... I've been fortunate enough to see most corners of the world and although there are some places I would quite happily take root, I do always have this feeling of contentment when the plane hits the tarmac again at Heathrow.

On a similar note we see similar near-sightedness from the government over the smoking ban announcements last week. Big back-pedal there.... they're now planning to only ban smoking in pubs that serve food. Oh well, that's nice and concise then. What do they constitute food to be? A packet of pork scratchings? What about pubs that serve food outdoors? Either ban it in all pubs or don't ban it at all! I'm not even a smoker and I think it's a stupid idea! What must the smokers themselves think?

Sigh... it's very easy to get wound up by the stupidity of politicians which is why I try never to get into conversations about all this. Don't pull out yet, Kam - sit tight and see what happens. I'm sure it won't be as bad as they mention when it actually comes to it. 

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Like the Supermarket fuel question there is a query in the latest edition of What Car? mag
Q" A Colleague says there is to be an increase in company car tax for 4x4's in the near future. As I'm above to buy a new Honda CRV can you tell me if that's likely to be the case?"

A" Advisors have put pressure on the Chancellor to introduce a more punative tax system for 4x4's, but the proposals haven't been adopted.
In fact in the last budget in March the Chancellor froze company car tax at the current levels until 2008 at the earliest.
The Liberal democrats want 4x4 drivers to pay a higher congestion charge in London, and this has been considered by the mayor ken livingstone. However, it was decided that it would be too complicated to charge 4x4 drivers more than other drivers and the proposal was scrapped" 2020 Pangea Green 1st Edition D240 New Defender 110 is here and loving it
2018 Melting Silver Mini Countryman PHEV - soon to be replaced
2015MY Corris Grey SDv6 HSE Dynamic, the best car I have ever owned, totally reliable only a cou0le of rattles in 3 years, now no longer in my care
Also in my garage is a 1996 TDi300 Defender 90 County HT made into a fake CSW

I'm sure we could all write lots on this one. My 'brief' points:(Apologies for the meandering)

If I didn't drive a new big nasty animal killing 4x4 I would have to have 2 cars, one a performance based road car, and an old, chugging, diesel sputtering banger of a 4x4, therefore producing twice the amount of polutants if not more. So, Greenpeace, where's the maths in that?

Public transport as an alternative? Don't make me laugh. I worked it out once to see if I could get to a customer site in Watford from home in Leics for 9am. By public transport I would have had to get up at 2am, and it involved about 4 trains and a couple of taxis. HOW do they think this is better than driving there?

Our trains in the UK are blisteringly hot in the summer and freezing cold in winter, toilet facilities on board are disgusting, the food is crap and amazingly over priced..I could go on for hours.

Sometimes the grass IS greener though and long term, we're looking at relocating to the southern hemisphere, Australia or NZ. At least Australia has the balls to tell asylum seekers to p!ss off and stay on the boats they ride in on, unlike the UK who gives homes to Hijackers and then makes you and I pay for it.

If someone burgals your house and you defend yourself YOU get taken to court - How dare you impede the burglar's progress of ransacking your house and valuables by trying to belt him with a golf club....

I've said it before and I'll no doubt say it again too, we live in a country where no matter how successful you are personally, not only does the government want to do it's merry best to take as much of it away as possible, but the lager lout 'chav' society looks at you like you've just stolen their grannie's pension.

I hate what this country has become, and when the timing is right, I'm off too.

Driving my petrol guzzling Supercharged is a daily 'Up Yours' to the Blair regime, the greenies and the chavs.

There, said my peace.  L319 D4 HSE

1998 110 TUM HS FFR Hard Top XD WOLF

1982 Series 3 SWB

RRUK

I'm with you - simple point I will often work in London until 2.00am, I only have a 20 mile trip out to to the M25 but try getting public transport at that time. As for Blair and his lot @$^!**&!(( !**@)) wa**ers! 2005 Zambezi TDV6 - Gone but not forgotten
2009 Alaska TDV8 - Gone and much missed.



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Don't forgett the Romans - What did they ever do for us  
" WITH MORE EXTRAS THAN A HOLLYWOOD EPIC "

MDP wrote:

Don't forgett the Romans - What did they ever do for us

I have to say I read Michael Critons new book 'State of Fear' which is based on factual info and it has given me a new dimension on this Green House Effect subject.

I for one believe it Global Warming is a load of old tosh. Yes, we are pumping out a shed load of CO2, more than ever before, and yes there will always be an effect of this, it is simple physics. But it is not having an advrse effect on the weather. yes we are having an unseasonal Autumn, but that is just statistics. There aree no more hurricanes or floods now than 200 years ago, its just that with the global media empire it just gets reported instantly. I could go on but read the book, its ok and has some great insights.

As for big gas guzzling cars, yes I think they are a bad thing, because they are burning this unsustainable natural resource that is fossil fuels. Oil is a fanatstic resource which does alot more than make petrol.

I have 2 V8's in the family, and yes they burn twice as much fuel as a vectra, but just 1 airplane journey to NYC burns more fuel than I will ever use in my Jag and range Rover in its entire lifetime!

As for Govt policy, it just comes down to cash and how much they can take off us!

G 2010MY Land Rover Freelander 2 HSE
Santorini Black with Ebony Napoli Leather

I saw the writing on the wall 10 years ago..at which point the
goverment were taking 80p in the pound out of my pocket !!
I developed a business and the more succesfull it became
the more the Goverment felt it was okay to just keep taxing
me to death..... at which point i said sod it and moved here
to NYC to start a new business and have a better quality of
life and cheaper gas !! Even my brother has had enough he
just off to OZ last week... a big brain drain is going
on in the UK....a bit like the one which happened in the early
70's. At some point ya just say enough is enough !!
I regularly go back to the UK and I am appalled at the lax service
and loutish manner in which I am treated , be it in Hotels or
restaurants...... I for one , are very glad I hopped across the pond !!
Mr G in NYC.