Give family driver a break
12:10pm Friday 27th June 2008
NEARLY 100,000 owners of the more polluting older cars in Hampshire will be sharing a bill for up to £12.4m extra road tax from next year.
Romsey MP Sandra Gidley has hit out at Chancellor Alistair Darling for this year's Budget blitz on cars first registered between March 2001 and the March 23 Budget in 2006 after figures revealed by the Liberal Democrats showed just how many local motorists face a huge tax hike.
Between them 95,000 car owners will pay £12.4m a year extra from next April.
As revealed in the Daily Echo on March 18, after the latest Budget, keepers of cars registered between March 2001 and March 2006 will see their vehicle excise duty (VED) soar from £210 a year now to as much as £440 from next April.
Worst hit will be those needing larger cars to safely transport their families and already suffering from rocketing fuel bills as pump prices soar.
Attacking the "retrospective" aspect of the green' policy that will worst hit 8,078 Southampton motorists with cars in tax bands F and G who collectively will pay more than £1m extra next year, Mrs Gidley said the Government should help.
She said: "Given that the Government have added another financial burden on families, they should look at ways of easing this burden.
"Even if making six-monthly payments, it is a lot of money to find in one fell swoop and the Government should be looking at ways of spreading it such as through monthly budget payments."
Replying to a written question from Mrs Gidley, the Department for Transport's Jim Fitzpatrick revealed that of cars registered 2001-2006 in VED band F (CO2 emissions 186-225g/km) there were 5,802 in Southampton out of 61,541 in Hampshire.
Next April, their tax disc costs will rise by £50-£90, totalling more than £500,000 extra in the city and £5.5m countywide.
In her attack Mrs Gidley cited the owners of Ford Mondeos as classic victims but very few of these would fall in the Band F.
Those really feeling the pain will be owners of 4x4s including most Land Rovers but also some people-movers and estates, particularly with automatic transmission, and sports cars - not just Porsches and Ferraris but also those like the Mazda RX8 - whose emissions top 225g/km for Band G.
In Southampton these 2,276 post-March 2001 registered keepers will see their bill rocket from £210 to £440 as they contribute an extra £466,580. Countywide, 33,475 owners will fork out an extra £6.86m.
Mrs Gidley said: "This will do nothing to change people's driving habits, but it will make a big hole in the pockets of hard-working families across Southampton."
A Treasury spokesman said: "The reforms to vehicle excise duty announced in the Budget will strengthen the incentive to develop and use cleaner, more fuel-efficient cars. The reforms will save an additional 1.3 million tonnes of CO2 by 2020, and encourage greater environmental innovation in the motor industry.
"While more polluting vehicles will face higher charges, many drivers will pay less as a result of these reforms. Under the 13 new bands of VED, the majority of motorists will be better or no worse off."