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Special Report Road tax

Road tax

Thousands of car buyers are paying too much road tax

• Some small cars are greener than others

• Two identical cars can be in different tax bands

• New tax system set to confuse buyers

Buyers looking to slash road tax costs by downsizing should do their research before completing a deal - or face paying over the odds for their tax discs in future.


Our latest research has uncovered that some buyers could be looking at a £100 INCREASE in road tax due to re-banding next year. 

New road tax bands – due to come into force in March 2009 – will make the road tax system more confusing and penalise a number of small cars – including family favourites such as the Volkswagen Polo, Ford Ka, Skoda Fabia, SEAT Ibiza, Ford Focus and Vauxhall Astra.

Cars that fall between 180 g/km CO2 and 185 g/km are currently at the top of Band E – but under next year’s banding, these cars will jump to Band J. That means a leap from £170.00 to £260.00, with a further rise in 2010 - a shock to current owners and anyone who buying one in the next year. 

Buyers need to be especially careful of the 1.4-litre petrol engine fitted to Fabia, Ibiza and Polo models. Many buyers will think they’re doing the ‘green thing’ by opting for a Polo and hoping to reap the financial reward. It’s a small car sold on how green it is – the 1.4-litre HDI Bluemotion emits under 100 g/km of CO2 and is exempt from road tax. However, choose a 1.4-litre petrol automatic and next year you could face a whopping £260.00 road tax charge; while manual versions will be charged from £120.00-£150.00, causing chaos for the car buyer. 

To make matters even more confusing, Parker’s has found a widespread practice in which car makers tweak the CO2 outputs of cars that are on the edges of the band boundaries. This is so they drop a band and become cheaper to run.

One example is the Citroen C4 fitted with the 1.6-litre HDI diesel - but there are countless others. When it was launched in 2004, the C4 1.6 HDI diesel was a 125 g/km car; from January 2008 it’s 120 g/km – just squeezing into Band B and going from £120 a year to just £35. That’s great news for new buyers – who will pay far less tax – but a maze for the used buyer to navigate at a time when the road tax system is more confusing than ever.

Click here to find out if you could be paying less tax

Parker’s advice to avoid paying too much road tax is simple: do your homework before you buy. Don't rely on guesswork: being a small car doesn't necessarily mean it will be cheap to tax and two identical cars could be paying two vastly different amounts of tax. Check our road tax calculator before you buy to make sure you're not buying a car that will cost you more than you think.

Biggest tax losers for 2009

We've listed the cars that are hardest hit under the 2009's road tax bands. These are the cars that move from the current Band E to Band J. In nearly all cases there's a cleaner (and cheaper) alternative of the same car - just a click away.

Audi A3 (03-)

Affected models: 1.6 Tip Auto and 2.0T S-Tronic

Find a greener, cheaper Audi A3 >>

BMW 1-Series (04-)

Affected models: Some 116i and 120i variants

Find a greener, cheaper BMW 1-Series >>

Chevrolet Lacetti (05-)

Affected models: 1.8 and 1.6 models in hatchback, saloon and station wagon bodies

Find a greener, cheaper Chevrolet Lacetti >>

Citroen C4 (04-)

Affected models: 2.0 VTR (143bhp) hatchback and coupe

Find a greener, cheaper Citroen C4 >>

Ford Focus (05-)

Affected models: 1.6-litre auto in hatchback, estate and saloon bodystyles

Find a greener, cheaper Ford Focus >>

Ford Fusion (02-)

Affected models: 1.6-litre auto models

Find a greener, cheaper Ford Fusion >>

Ford KA (96-)

Affected models: 1.6-litre SportKa

Find a greener, cheaper Ford Ka >>

Mazda 3 (04-)

Affected models: 1.6-litre Activematic hatchback models

Find a greener, cheaper Mazda 3 >>

MINI Convertible (04-)

Affected models: 1.6-litre Cooper Auto models

Find a greener, cheaper MINI Convertible >>

Peugeot 307 (01-07)

Affected models: 2.0-litre models

Find a greener, cheaper Peugeot 307 >>

Renault Megane (02-)

Affected models: 1.6 and 2.0T models in hatchback, saloon and sport tourer bodies

Find a greener, cheaper Renault Megane >>

Renault Modus

Affected models: 1.6-litre engine models

Find a greener, cheaper Renault Modus >>

Renault Scenic (03-)

Affected models: 1.6-litre engine models

Find a greener, cheaper Renault Scenic >>

Saab 9-3

Affected models: 1.8-litre engine models

Find a greener, cheaper Saab 9-3 >>

SEAT Altea

Affected models: 1.6-litre engine models

Find a greener, cheaper SEAT Altea >>

SEAT Ibiza (02-08)

Affected models: 1.4 Auto models

Find a greener, cheaper SEAT Ibiza >>

Skoda Fabia (00-07)

Affected models: 1.4-litre auto models in hatchback, estate and saloon bodystyles 

Find a greener, cheaper Skoda Fabia>>

Skoda Roomster (06-)

Affected models: 1.6-litre Tiptronic models

Find a greener, cheaper Skoda Roomster >>

Vauxhall Astra (04-)

Affected models: Some 1.6T and 1.8-litre engines in hatchback, saloon and TwinTop

Find a greener, cheaper Vauxhall Astra >>

Vauxhall Corsa (03-06)

Affected models: 1.8 SRi

Find a greener, cheaper Vauxhall Corsa >>

Vauxhall Tigra (04-)

Affected models: 1.8-litre models

Find a greener, cheaper Vauxhall Tigra >>

Volkswagen Beetle (99-)

Affected models: Some 1.6-litre engine in the hatchback and cabriolet

Find a greener, cheaper Volkswagen Beetle >>

Volkswagen Golf (04-)

Affected models: Some 1.6 FSI models in the hatchback

Find a greener, cheaper Volkswagen Golf >>

Volkswagen Polo (02-)

Affected models: 1.4-litre auto

Find a greener, cheaper Volkswagen Polo >>

 

 How green are you?

Use the Parker's carbon footprint calculator to find out how green you and your car are. 

Calculate my carbon footprint

More news in Road tax
 

Have your say

Post a comment and tell us what you think about this article.

Added: 05 January 2010 13:15

My 32 year old MGB covers 300 miles per year and the road Road tax costs £190
My Jaguar covers 28,000 miles per year and only costs me £130 road tax
The MGB is harmless for its CO2 emmisions and I dont want to incur more Co2 damage by buying a new BMW sports car to replace it, incuring massive manufacturing emmisions for global warming
Where is the logic in road tax tax costs???
David Sutcliffe, Harrogate
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Added: 03 October 2009 17:14

The system for banding cars on emissions should be just that! WE have 3 cars with identical engines and 3 diff car tax bands with the older cars being penalised heavier. It has nothing to do with the emissions they produce being as the oldest one is has lowest emissions and highest tax! Seems that its all geared for us to go out and buy new cars to save a few pounds. Emission testing should be linked in with MOT to determine tax rate!
chingy, March
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Added: 15 November 2008 22:14

This proposed range of ill conceive,blatant,barefaced and backhanded stealth taxes could only seek to slaughter not only the car industry but every conceivable dependant offshoot and their several dependants also(the Leisure Industry,Caravan and Motorhome business's,Delivery/Transport Business's etc,etc,etc.If this round of criminal charges are imposed in their proposed format dealerships will have to take a hit on the 1st registration charge;in particular for larger cars and 4x4's.
John Shepherd, Skelmersdale
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Added: 04 October 2008 20:17
The notion to further punish the driving public with the moving of the goal posts,ie:-the changes to VED for vehicles from 2001,(WHAT A STEALTH TAX & we tax payers foot the bill) after we have bought them rather than a projected cut-off date;say Jan 2010,ie:-all singing off the same hymn sheet).The multiple tax banding is going to create retail mayhem.Stock piles of post 2001,older cars being held onto and possibly gaining in value untill they finally die due to lack of sparepart surgery!!!!.
John Shepherd, UpHolland,Skelmersdale

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Added: 04 October 2008 18:27
The notion to further punish the driving public with the moving of the goal posts,ie:-the changes to VED for vehicles from 2001,(WHAT A STEALTH TAX & we tax payers foot the bill) after we have bought them rather than a projected cut-off date;say Jan 2010,ie:-all singing off the same hymn sheet).The multiple tax banding is going to create retail mayhem.Stock piles of post 2001,older cars being held onto and possibly gaining in value untill they finally die due to lack of sparepart surgery!!!!.
John Shepherd, UpHolland,Skelmersdale

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Added: 16 September 2008 13:40
Gordon Brown has just nailed the final nail in his coffin. He has destroyed the value of the second main asset in any family after their property. The second hand car industry is also finished with millions of pounds wiped away in car values. This is all we need in this time of economic strain. Thank you Labour!
alan, Southend

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Added: 14 September 2008 22:00
my car is used maybe once a week for work and only when we tow our caravan otherwise we use public transport it is disgraceful that we are expected to pay so much road tax just because we own a 4x4 those who have two or more cars in one household and fly abroad for holidays use far more emmisions than i use in five years it should be thoser that are slammed not caravaners or public transport users this government is a joke roll on the elections
denise longbottom, wakefield

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Added: 13 September 2008 13:55
We have two cars in our family, a young economical car and an older, bigger, 2 litre engined car. The younger one costs £75 more to tax next year! I am sick of finding out how much more the tax is on a replacement for the older one. I have virtually stopped looking now as the garages are only dropping the prices on the tax heavy cars hoping to shift them before the public are aware.
N Bridges, Warwickshire

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Added: 11 September 2008 14:49
The main problem with all these stealth taxes coupled with high inflation leaves the majority of british people short of cash to save for their pension funds, for which Labour are continuously reminding us will be non-existent in a few decades. I wonder if Prescott has his car tax paid by the public as well as his pension?
S Cooper, Oxford

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Added: 02 September 2008 09:11
what has happened to GREAT britain. this may sound like the plot of some new movie but if things carry on like this normal british people will have no choice but to leave this country that used to be ours for other fairer countries, just leaving all of the immagrants that have flooded our country. and once they will have to start paying all of these taxes without help from our government, then they will leave to. Gordon brown, you are going to go down in history as the man who destroyed britain.
darren white, northampton

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Added: 25 July 2008 07:36
YIPEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE, labour loses a safe seat in the east of Glasgow biolection. The people of this country are sick of Gordon Brown and his HOODS screwing us left right and centre, they are not listening to the very people who voted for them, with there retrospective policies,(VED)& (FUEL COSTS) only to mention two of there Boo Boos. Gordon, the voices of the people will echo all over the country, WE HAVE HAD ENOUGH. Gordon, you will last about as long as a snow flake in summer.
Steve Oswald, Penicuik

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Added: 25 July 2008 07:34
YIPEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE, labour loses a safe seat in the east of Glasgow biolection. The people of this country are sick of Gordon Brown and his HOODS screwing us left right and centre, they are not listening to the very people who voted for them, with there retrospective policies,(VED)& (FUEL COSTS) only to mention two of there Boo Boos. Gordon, the voices of the people will echo all over the country, WE HAVE HAD ENOUGH. Gordon, you will last about as long as a snow flake in summer.
Steve Oswald, Penicuik

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Added: 24 July 2008 20:24
rip off britain, once again want my vote Mr Brown ? think again
+++++, +++++++++

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Added: 24 July 2008 18:56
We live in the county of Devonshire near Dartmoor where it is neccessay to have a four x four. Why should we, and the farmers in this area be penalise by driving vehicles which are meant for the area not 'Chelsea tractors' which the media seem to highlight. They should use the post codes to help determine the people who need this type of vehicle to match the environment.
Michael James, Okehampton

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Added: 24 July 2008 13:48
I can drive a 'clean' car badly and get poor mpg but I can drive an average car carefully and get better mpg.

A mucky car doing 5k a year is less polluting than a 'clean' car doing 20k a year.

Tax only on fuel so that bad and high users pay more. If we could see where OUR money is being spent sensibly away from the usual London-centric spendings.

Public transport isn't great here and it takes 1hr over my usual 10min car trip to work!

This government is killing this country!
Andy, Bradford

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Added: 24 July 2008 11:41
I drive LPG converted cars and have virtually no emissions yet the gov.will not recognise this and still want to tax me at the high rate.I have the readings displayed on the M.O.T. doc. and it is positive proof but this is not taken into account.I object to being penalised for going green and yes saving money using what is a bi-product of the petrol industry that was burned off in the past but why should we gas users get burned' by the revenue.
Rob Burgess, Paignton

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Added: 24 July 2008 11:30
We pay tax when buying a car
We pay road tax thats not spent on the roads
We pay the fuel tax & Value Added Tax,so a double fuel tax
We pay tax on engine oil
We pay tax on water for the car
We pay tax on parts
We pay tax on repairs
We pay tax on motor insurance
We pay tax on the MOT
We pay more than enough taxes already and the government road tax prices are random and nothing to to with the enviroment, the road tax could be made simple, e.g, 10% of the cars cc, 1400cc = £140
Alan, Durham

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Added: 22 July 2008 16:21
What a shambles, with taxation on fuel probably the highest in the world, taxes and National Insurance Contributions going through the roof, VAT on everything, now we have to be bled dry by the government taking more money off us through road tax.
With a vote of no confidence in our government and nag your local MP to death can we even try to stop this rot. whinging about it won't do anything! Write to your MP, after all WE PAY HIS WAGES TOO! Make him/her work for it and do us all a favour.
Richard Guilcher, brentwood

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Added: 22 July 2008 03:50
Have you noticed a trend in these comments?
Perhaps the next Conservative election campaign should be "do you want Laurel and Hardy to run our country, or would you prefer non actors?".
Or perhaps it should be Laura Laughs and Hardly Capable
Damn disgrace; poorly thought out taxation.
Just put the tax on fuel!!!
Mr Disgruntled, , CO2ville

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Added: 22 July 2008 03:50
Have you noticed a trend in these comments?
Perhaps the next Conservative election campaign should be "do you want Laurel and Hardy to run our country, or would you prefer non actors?".
Or perhaps it should be Laura Laughs and Hardly Capable
Damn disgrace; poorly thought out taxation.
Just put the tax on fuel!!!
Mr Disgruntled, , CO2ville

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Added: 21 July 2008 17:54
IN A WAY, THEY HIKING UP COSTS TO GET US OFF ROAD AND USE PUBLIC TRANSPORT. I WOULD USE PUBLIC TRANSPORT IF THERE WAS ENOUGH BUSES, AND AT PROPER TIMES, IF THE RAILWAY WASNT ALWAYS BREAKING DOWN AND IF THE PRICES WERENT AS HIGH! IF THE GOVERMENT WANT US TO USE PUBLIC TRANSPORT THEN THEY SHOULD SORT IT OUT, THEN NO ONE WOULD USE THEIR CARS AS MUCH WHICH MEANS HEALTHIER PLANET AND CHEAPER FOR US!!
METZELDER, COLCHESTER

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Added: 21 July 2008 17:54
IN A WAY, THEY HIKING UP COSTS TO GET US OFF ROAD AND USE PUBLIC TRANSPORT. I WOULD USE PUBLIC TRANSPORT IF THERE WAS ENOUGH BUSES, AND AT PROPER TIMES, IF THE RAILWAY WASNT ALWAYS BREAKING DOWN AND IF THE PRICES WERENT AS HIGH! IF THE GOVERMENT WANT US TO USE PUBLIC TRANSPORT THEN THEY SHOULD SORT IT OUT, THEN NO ONE WOULD USE THEIR CARS AS MUCH WHICH MEANS HEALTHIER PLANET AND CHEAPER FOR US!!
METZELDER, COLCHESTER

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Added: 21 July 2008 17:54
IN A WAY, THEY HIKING UP COSTS TO GET US OFF ROAD AND USE PUBLIC TRANSPORT. I WOULD USE PUBLIC TRANSPORT IF THERE WAS ENOUGH BUSES, AND AT PROPER TIMES, IF THE RAILWAY WASNT ALWAYS BREAKING DOWN AND IF THE PRICES WERENT AS HIGH! IF THE GOVERMENT WANT US TO USE PUBLIC TRANSPORT THEN THEY SHOULD SORT IT OUT, THEN NO ONE WOULD USE THEIR CARS AS MUCH WHICH MEANS HEALTHIER PLANET AND CHEAPER FOR US!!
METZELDER, COLCHESTER

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Added: 19 July 2008 12:32
The only way to stop this is to be more like the French and have huge public protests and blockades. It worked when the lorry drivers did it some years ago over the increases in Deisel prices and could work again.Politicians are only interested in the public when it looks like they might get booted out of office
p Zernikazof, Nottingham

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Added: 19 July 2008 00:17
to start with road tax is way too high. cameras on the road are the other thing. price of petrol have become ridiculous and unaffordable. the congestion charges getting out of control. i mean we all know the sun is heating up we saw on news that the moon in saturn in melting! whos driving cars there? aliens? we are cornered everyway. no buses no train everything getting too expensive and not just everything all essential way to live has gone up.
dan, oventry

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Added: 18 July 2008 18:27
This tax is pure regression.
The car doesn't pollute unless it's burning fuel so we have fuel tax.
The car doesn't congest unless it's on the road at the wrong time so we have congestion charging.
Car Tax makes no sense except as a flat rate tax taking no account of ability to pay.
G Creighton, Royton

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Added: 18 July 2008 17:52
Remember the council tax? If Labour do not U turn on this retrospective tax they are in for trouble. House prices collapsing, fuel & food souring, car values plummeting, pensions raided & taxed to the hilt. Sold all our gold reserves Laurel & Hardy have made a fine mess. Time to cut there pay, remove there second homes and index linked pensions and expenses. Cast them out.... revolt!
Simon, Bewdley

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Added: 18 July 2008 17:23
I am a student nurse at the moment and i live 15 miles from the nearest hospital. I am finding these petrol prices ridiculous, i only have a small car (punto) and it is costing me a small fortune to get to uni and to my placements. Not everyone can ride a bike to work it is just too far, also i live in a small village and their are no buses that can get me to the hospital for 7am for an early shift or home at 9.30 after a late. Well Gordon Brown how do you suggest i get to work?
Ann, Tattershall, lincolnshire

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Added: 17 July 2008 17:01
We all know the arguments about it not being a Green Tax. The new tax won't reduce the CO2 output, etc. etc. But what seems to unfair (to us Brit's who like to see fair play) is that it's retrospective. A purchase decision I made in 2003 will increase my future tax bill. Also...

Does it discriminate against the disabled? Lots of automatics (which produce more CO2) are bought by disabled drivers. So, if you are disabled, you pay more car tax. Write to your MP!
Andrew, Epsom

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Added: 17 July 2008 07:36
right here we go. i am soooo sick of this goverment i dont see the reason to put tax on everything they can think of. i honestly think SACK ALL THE GOVERMENT AND EMPLOY 5 YEAR OLDS. i bet the 5 year olds would do a better job! i am struggling to pay for insurance because i am a young driver and the fuel prices are just absolute ridulous!!!!! seems like noone care about young drivers...
Daniel, Blyth

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Added: 16 July 2008 21:50
Ignoring the fact of no real evidence of co2 being the root of all our so called problems (everyone reported we were heading for another iceage in the 70s look it up its true!)about 80% of the co2 going into the atmosphere comes from the sea evaporating, we need to look at the seriously unjust jumping on the bandwagon that is the new car tax rules.
retroactive = unjust and has no effect but to devalue existing owners cars.
100 g/km x 25000miles is more than 280g/km x 5000 miles isn't it? hmmm
Richard, Tunbridge Wells

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Added: 16 July 2008 20:12
Fuel Tax, Vehicle Excise Tax, Price On Fuel at the pumps,food prices escalating, utility prices accelerating...even the MPs who caused many of the problems want to raise their pay and allowances. Wish I could...their allowances (£23k) are more than many of us get a year. About time they got out more....after the next election many of them will!!!!!
Robin Duxbury, Chippenham

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Added: 16 July 2008 19:20
Just like this goverment at the moment hitting hard working people with more tax. If they stopped and lookied at what they are doing to the working man who will not be able to go to work as they can not afford to run a car.
Putting car tax up for preformance car that all a small % of the popultion can run. If you can afford a car liike that your not going to be bothered about the running costs.
stephen , dereham

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Added: 16 July 2008 10:38
Highest Fuel Tax, Highest Car Tax, Highest Price On Fuel at the pumps, record high food prices.... the 1920s of America now spring to mind, congrats labour - your putting us into a depression!
Can anyone justify how more tax means a greener planet? And why fleet vehicles where allowed to be included in the goverment research, surely there has to be more capable people in government! Have they thought it through? The public transport systems can not cope at the moment! What will happen 2 it now?
Ricky Boyd, Coleraine

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Added: 16 July 2008 10:38
Highest Fuel Tax, Highest Car Tax, Highest Price On Fuel at the pumps, record high food prices.... the 1920s of America now spring to mind, congrats labour - your putting us into a depression!
Can anyone justify how more tax means a greener planet? And why fleet vehicles where allowed to be included in the goverment research, surely there has to be more capable people in government! Have they thought it through? The public transport systems can not cope at the moment! What will happen 2 it now?
Ricky Boyd, Coleraine

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Added: 15 July 2008 20:57
This added tax comes as no suprise to me as this labour goverment on its last dying legs seems hellbent on making us all miserable.
The obvious answer to all working class people who are going to be hit hard by the rises is to get new jobs, might I suggest becoming an MP, in doing this you could buy the car of your dreams, fuel can cost whatever and the price of car tax could do the same, why should you now care, it's on expences!
This is just another thorn on the plant called our goverment!
Ben Griffin, Chippenham

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Added: 15 July 2008 20:56
This added tax comes as no suprise to me as this labour goverment on its last dying legs seems hellbent on making us all miserable.
The obvious answer to all working class people who are going to be hit hard by the rises is to get new jobs, might I suggest becoming an MP, in doing this you could buy the car of your dreams, fuel can cost whatever and the price of car tax could do the same, why should you now care, it's on expences!
This is just another thorn on the plant called our goverment!
Ben Griffin, Chippenham

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Added: 15 July 2008 20:56
This added tax comes as no suprise to me as this labour goverment on its last dying legs seems hellbent on making us all miserable.
The obvious answer to all working class people who are going to be hit hard by the rises is to get new jobs, might I suggest becoming an MP, in doing this you could buy the car of your dreams, fuel can cost whatever and the price of car tax could do the same, why should you now care, it's on expences!
This is just another thorn on the plant called our goverment!
Ben Griffin, Chippenham

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Added: 15 July 2008 20:56
This added tax comes as no suprise to me as this labour goverment on its last dying legs seems hellbent on making us all miserable.
The obvious answer to all working class people who are going to be hit hard by the rises is to get new jobs, might I suggest becoming an MP, in doing this you could buy the car of your dreams, fuel can cost whatever and the price of car tax could do the same, why should you now care, it's on expences!
This is just another thorn on the plant called our goverment!
Ben Griffin, Chippenham

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Added: 15 July 2008 14:02
Sorry folks, I don't get it.
Back in 2001, the government signalled its intention to differentiate road tax based on CO2 emissions. There'll be more bands next year, but the principle hasn't changed. Road tax has always gone up from year to year, so no change there either.
Unlike most taxes, this one's optional. No-one made you choose a high-CO2 car.
The reason the oil price is so high is demand - coming in part from thirstier cars. Getting these off the roads reduces demand for fuel.
JimW, London

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Added: 15 July 2008 10:25
To be honest its getting to the stage where owning a car is not worth the hassle. Going over £450 a year is silly for some cars, especially since most people are probably paying an extra £1000 in fuel bills a year. If this keeps continuing i will just sell the car and reap the benefits of having a lot of money left over!
J Jackson, Gainsborough

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Added: 15 July 2008 02:04
With the increasing cost of fuel and proposed rise in the road tax fee, the hard pressed motorist will now have less money available for car maintenance. Expect a corresponding increase in the accident rate due to poorly maintained vehicles.
Dave, Northants

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Added: 15 July 2008 01:50
maybe we should all sue the government for the loss in value of our cars when this new tax hike comes in. soon the only people able to afford to run a car with anything other than a tiny engine will be the middle and upper classes - hardly your typical labour voters!
Its stupid how drivers of new supposedly greener cars are penalised so much. My car emits 211g/km, if it was new the tax would be £300 but because it is pre 2001 tax is 'only' £185. madness!
D Lovell, Sunderland

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Added: 14 July 2008 23:14
Bloody hell, you get more freedom in Pakistan than here, Come on brown you're bleeding us dry. It's time for you to quit!
Imran, Manchester

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Added: 14 July 2008 22:26
Thanks Mr Government! We live in a modern society where we enjoy the freedom to live our lives as we wish. Civil liberty now has a price which must break some Euro-crat Law. Its my right to drive a large car and enjoy the fruits of my labours but that right has now been taken unjustly as I cannot afford the petrol and now I'll be damned if I'm going to pay hundreds of pounds to drive over very poor road surfaces which damage wheel, tyre and suspension. why are we so far behind other countries??
jeff carter, colchester

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Added: 14 July 2008 17:53
well what can i say but thanks again government i think you lot should be in the record books how much more money can they get of us working class to provide for there extra houses for the m p s were does the money go for these taxis not on roads ,can not have the working class getting above themselves so hit them were it hurts we will screw them into to the ground and when they are down screw them some more .O buy the way have you heard they are thinking about taxing push bikes
dave, brum

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Added: 14 July 2008 16:11
Once again it's the working people of our fair country being hit in the pocket. If this government is so concerned for the planet, why don't they introduce green taxes on big business. No doubt this tax will again hit the people who are most vulnerable.
keith vaughton, Westhoughton

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Added: 14 July 2008 15:53
I have been so annoyed by the wishy washy introduction of the new VED bands. Will it be vehicles registered after '06 or '01, who knows??

Effectively it has reduced my cars value considerably, so if I sell I suffer and if I keep it I suffer. The worst part is I use a Bike 80% of the time...

The question is what can we do about it? I think it's about time Labour are voted out, but who do we trust to sort out their mess? And it is a huge deficit that needs sorting. Someone help us!!
JC, Birmingham

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Added: 14 July 2008 15:21
why are newer cars being hit more than older cars, the older the vehicle the more polluting they are, if raising road tax is to make us more green, what are the alternatives? the trains are over crowded and never on time, my daughter uses the bus to get to work they seem to run as and when, my wife drives a land rover so the more deisel we use the more tax we pay, we are being hit both ways, I feel sorry for the road haulage industry, one common market, I think not.
Steve, Bristol

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Added: 14 July 2008 13:53
Yet another increase in tax on the motorist.

This time for the sake of the "environment", which if you're an intelligent individual, you'll know we have absolutely no control over, and any change in climate is an entirely natural process.

Hardly seems fair does it?
A. May, Newport

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Added: 14 July 2008 13:40
I think they should do away with the 2001 age threshold as I have an April 2001 car which increases from £210 to £400 (2001 Seat Alhambra 20V 2000-2006 model) and one car which stays at £185 (2000 Skoda Octavia TDi 98-2003 model ). Wouldnt be so hacked off if the older cars tax was reduced. On the new scale the Octavia goes to £120.00 as only 140g/km. Its all been done totally wrong and the only positive is that it should be the downfall of Brown's government.
Peter, Camberley

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Added: 14 July 2008 10:44
I am sick and fed up of the goverment every week of the year finding some other way to get more money out of the motorist if they spent half the time in trying to do something about crime and other more important things it would be far better, but of course this would cost them money and not fetch it in.
Desmond Gee M.I.A.M., SHELF

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Added: 13 July 2008 22:51
With the highest fule in europe
road tax should be free not going up., Also if you drive a big car you will be paying for it as you would use more fule = you pay more fule tax and thats your penalty
so you should not get hit again its only people power that can stop this mad taxing daft goverment.
Kenny, Eastkilbride

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Added: 13 July 2008 22:35
everyone annoyed at losing out should really have considered this when they bought the car. did they not see the trends with petrol prices over the last 2 years? with petrol at £1.50/l by the end of the year, why did they buy these cars? i personally drive a car which only gets 23mpg (now 26mpg due to changing my driving style), but i compensate for my pollution by cycling to work 5 days a week. i currently pay £180 road tax but i think it is fair as an incentive for people to buy efficient cars
paul, glasgow

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Added: 13 July 2008 21:23
Little working man in the street being bullied yet again. Tax, tax, tax and more tax Mr Brown i own a 1.8 freelander which has the same engine as a rover mgtf so why is my freelander going to cost me almost £200,00 extra to tax in 2010? also since your great idea with the tax shake up lol, my car has lost thousands of pounds in worth, how would you like to surport us and compensate us for all the money we are going to lose? No comment? I THOUGHT SO. I WONT BE VOTEING LABOUR AGAIN... LABOUR OUT.
w.mytten, worcester

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Added: 13 July 2008 18:50
please someone out there kindly forward gordon brown account number and sort code, so I can forward all my salary direct.
r smith, wix

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Added: 13 July 2008 18:11
Load of rubbish and a con , they tell people to buy new clean cars as it better for the enviroment. last year i bought a brand new car only to find out now that the road tax will cost more money than the heap i part exchanged it with !!
Phil, Lincoln

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Added: 13 July 2008 18:00
I have recently bought a Skoda Octavia 1.6, an upgrade to my aging Felicia 1.6. The tax on the Felicia (pre 2001) is £185 - this will remain at £185, and then in 2010 will increase to £200. The Octavia, you would think more fuel efficient, newer and cleaner, would cost less in tax - currently £165, then goes up to £205 next year, and £210 the next! Can you believe it - what is the government playing at?!
Annoyed, Newtown Mid Wales

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Added: 13 July 2008 17:31
i think its a step too far from the goverment now!its really unacceptable for this change as with the current cost of fuel and rising living costs its anther nail in most peoples coffin!!
john, llandeilo

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Added: 13 July 2008 15:57
well, someone got to filled the hole innit!!
con brown, downing street london

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Added: 13 July 2008 15:15
Labour sucked!!!!!!!
simon young, COLCHESTER

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Added: 13 July 2008 15:14
Labour sucked!!!!!!!
simon young, COLCHESTER

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Added: 13 July 2008 09:51
As several people have said the global warming issue is a con. The earth cooling & warming is a natural cycle and one that we have little effect on but who can prove otherwise eh? GW is the new religion & to say you don't believe is not the done thing, unless you have a bit of sense that is. Although I agree to tax fuel use is a fairer measure it will just mean that eventually we will be paying even more. Oil is a diminshing resource though and we will all have to do without it some day.
Steve, Warrington

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Added: 13 July 2008 09:31
i recently brought a new 'low emmisions ar 114g/m although i will fall in cat. c of the new tax band so £35 a year i feel that as im driving high mileage i am there for causing more damage i agree with others we should pay on fuel and abolish VED its just a government sceme to line there pockets who pays for them to drive? we do
why dont we all boycott pumps and VED then the government will have to find new ways of taxing us, why dont they just say you work and dont get paid screw Mr Brown
Jason, Ipswich

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Added: 13 July 2008 08:21
This unfair vindictive tax is just as unfair as Council Tax. My council tax bill has increased over the past 10 years of Labour "misrule" by more than 100% BUT since I am retired I have not increased my income by even 20% - so, where do these morons think I can find the money to pay this extortion! Now I need a tent and a bicycle!
Stuart Hewlett-Clarke, Marple Bridge

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Added: 13 July 2008 08:14
Ladies and gentlemen, petrol heads, collectors and just plain folks who have to drive to work to earn a "crust" - This has NOTHING to do with global warming - if you dig in the archives, back in 1974 politicians were predicting another ICE AGE ! - Global warming is a natural cycle that will continue with or without this "sorry excuse for a governments" inexcusable taxes. 360% tax on fuel and now this! Yes, poor old Gordon has run out of money and ideas so this is what his buddy Darling dreams up
Stuart Hewlett-Clarke, Marple Bridge

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Added: 12 July 2008 22:50
I feel the hike in taxes is just the beginning, i suspect the government are ''bringing it in the back door'' so as to no wake us up with sudden rises, whilst we all sleep, they creep it in slowly, but surely. by the time we realise how bad it is, its to late to do anything about it. (not that we have any say anyway)
i dont believe in global warming, the planet goes through these cycles naturally, even if it did exist, how does paying higher taxes change global warming exactly???
lorraine vickrage, bournemouth

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Added: 12 July 2008 20:26
I run a 2001 renault RX4 my tax will be £260 from next year. It does less than 4k a year. I have a large family and need a large car.what do i do now?
START BY NOT VOTING THOSE MUPPETS IN AGAIN!!! how much of my wage do you want?
Dont Vote Labour, Bradford

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Added: 12 July 2008 15:34
As an enthusiast, I have several high band cars but ,even collectively, cover a very low annual mileage. However, I'm now looking at paying thousands of pounds more for what? My driving emits significantly less CO2 than a single car owning, high mileage driver.
As much as I hate the idea, i wish 'green' taxes were applied purely to our fuel! This means you can own as many cars as you like but only get taxed for actually using them! This country is bonkers. Does Pay-As-You-Go not make sense?
Grumpy Motorist, Bangor, Co Down

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Added: 12 July 2008 13:12
My VED is one of those which will rocket up to the top band even when I average only 3500 miles per annum, hardly the world’s major polluter.

My take on this increase is that it was supposed to penalise polluters so why not put all taxation on fuel and do away with this complex system of VED altogether. This would have the following advantages :-

1) Those that burn the most fuel and pollute the most pay the most.
2) Those that do the most miles cause the most wear and tear on the roads s
Colin , Newcastle

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Added: 12 July 2008 10:40
i have an 02 golf V5 170 bhp it produces 211 g/km and my tax is going up to £310, yet if i had the earlier V5 150 bhp that produces more (226 g/km) the tax is £200.

now you try and figure out that logic!!!
clive, watford

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Added: 12 July 2008 10:17
I own a 2002 BMW X5 3.0D which has a Co2 figure of 259 g/km, I also run a company car which is a VW Golf 1.9 tdi (Very fuel efficient) this has a Co2 figure of 132 g/km which is obviosly better. Where is the problem you say. I drive 10,000 kilometres per annum in the X5 and 50,000 kilometres in the golf which is where the injustice of the new road tax shows. My X5 emits 2.59 tonnes of CO2 per year whereas the golf emits 6.6 tonnes of CO2 per year. Which is the bigger polluter now??!! MADNESS!!!
James, Preston

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Added: 12 July 2008 10:16
I own a 2002 BMW X5 3.0D which has a Co2 figure of 259 g/km, I also run a company car which is a VW Golf 1.9 tdi (More fuel efficient) this has a Co2 figure of 132 g/km which is obviosly better. Where is the problem you say. I drive 10,000 kilometres per annum in the X5 and 50,000 kilometres in the golf which is where the injustice of the new road tax shows. My X5 emits 2.6 tonnes of CO2 per year whereas the golf emits 6.6 tonnes of CO2 per year. Which is the bigger polluter Now!!??? MADNESS!!!
James, Preston

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Added: 12 July 2008 01:50
I think increased road tax should mean increased quality of roads... at the end of the day that what the tax should be used for ... roads...
Cal, Wales

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Added: 12 July 2008 01:48
VED is being used as a pocession tax and has nothing to do with reducing co2. Any vechile only produces co2 when being driven and it's zero when parked on a drive. I also own a 73 show car and can drive only one at a time,but still have to pay the VED on it(800miles per year). All petrol engines can use LPG and this fuel is a lot cleaner and should have the duty reduced! The roads have not improve much over the last 11yrs.
The sooner this Goverment goes the better.
Godfrey, West Midlands

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Added: 12 July 2008 00:51
Its unfair of the government to hit the British people with another increase in road tax's dont we already pay enough, not just on road tax but fuel duty, how many people are aware that approx 53p in every £ spent at the pump goes to the government in tax. where is the money going that they will make on all these rises? road repairs, the NHS, cancer research etc? No this is just another stealth tax to line their already fat pockets.
elaine, hinckley

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Added: 12 July 2008 00:51
Its unfair of the government to hit the British people with another increase in road tax's dont we already pay enough, not just on road tax but fuel duty, how many people are aware that approx 53p in every £ spent at the pump goes to the government in tax. where is the money going that they will make on all these rises? road repairs, the NHS, cancer research etc? No this is just another stealth tax to line their already fat pockets.
elaine, hinckley

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Added: 12 July 2008 00:51
Its unfair of the government to hit the British people with another increase in road tax's dont we already pay enough, not just on road tax but fuel duty, how many people are aware that approx 53p in every £ spent at the pump goes to the government in tax. where is the money going that they will make on all these rises? road repairs, the NHS, cancer research etc? No this is just another stealth tax to line their already fat pockets.
elaine, hinckley

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Added: 12 July 2008 00:51
Its unfair of the government to hit the British people with another increase in road tax's dont we already pay enough, not just on road tax but fuel duty, how many people are aware that approx 53p in every £ spent at the pump goes to the government in tax. where is the money going that they will make on all these rises? road repairs, the NHS, cancer research etc? No this is just another stealth tax to line their already fat pockets.
elaine, hinckley

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Added: 12 July 2008 00:50
Its unfair of the government to hit the British people with another increase in road tax's dont we already pay enough, not just on road tax but fuel duty, how many people are aware that approx 53p in every £ spent at the pump goes to the government in tax. where is the money going that they will make on all these rises? road repairs, the NHS, cancer research etc? No this is just another stealth tax to line their already fat pockets.
elaine, hinckley

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Added: 12 July 2008 00:50
Its unfair of the government to hit the British people with another increase in road tax's dont we already pay enough, not just on road tax but fuel duty, how many people are aware that approx 53p in every £ spent at the pump goes to the government in tax. where is the money going that they will make on all these rises? road repairs, the NHS, cancer research etc? No this is just another stealth tax to line their already fat pockets.
elaine, hinckley

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Added: 12 July 2008 00:50
Its unfair of the government to hit the British people with another increase in road tax's dont we already pay enough, not just on road tax but fuel duty, how many people are aware that approx 53p in every £ spent at the pump goes to the government in tax. where is the money going that they will make on all these rises? road repairs, the NHS, cancer research etc? No this is just another stealth tax to line their already fat pockets.
elaine, hinckley

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Added: 11 July 2008 22:30
Plenty of people are going to think "it will be cheaper not to have Tax or Insurance." And will just chance it. It is the law abiding that always pay in the end. What are the real statistics for fuel related crimes at the moment, because that will be hidden from us as well. They havn't got enough police on our roads to deal with the bad guys, only the law abiders, try reporting someone to the DVLA website, for not having road tax, they aren't bothered. They haven't the resources to deal with it
MUG, Sheffield

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Added: 11 July 2008 22:15
We are British, and do what the British do best, We just shut up and pay up, Labour for the working class. They know we will not do anything, cause we wait for someone else to do it. We voted for them and there policies and they will try to bribe us all before 2010, because thats what Brown is good at, but God help us if he wins another term.
MUG, sheffield

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Added: 11 July 2008 21:45
give the labour gov all cancer i say
chris, sutton

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Added: 11 July 2008 21:28
I don't believe it is a valid way to 'persuade' people to be greener. Surely a person such as myself, averaging approx. 8.5k per year, but driving a vehicle rated at 230g/km is less damaging to the environment than say a vehicle rated at 173g/km (vauxhall Vectra 1.8) doing approx 155 p.a. The big question is: Why can't car tax be put on to the price of fuel, which would mean we all "pay as you go", also there will be no need to chase tax dodgers.
Michael Nicholls, Ashford, Middlesex

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Added: 11 July 2008 20:47
This tax is typical of this medacious and hypocritical government. The tax increase will have no effect on green issues whatsoever as the cars are already purchased and on the road. It is simply another one of many tax increases by this dreadful government.

It's beginning to be cheaper to be a criminal and drive without tax. By all means tax future cars accordingly but to have a retrospective tax is taking us all for fools. To hell with Brown and his useless ministers.
Frostee, Manchester

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Added: 11 July 2008 19:42
I am 76 and bought a Renult Kangoo 4x4 as my last car. Its a granny wagon not doing high millagen Now I have to pay £210 tax rsing to £280 while people with huge 4x4s are paying £110 Fair I don't think so!!!

E aYLING
Eileen Ayling, Chichester

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Added: 11 July 2008 19:26
A disgrace. It's OK for the Government to put road tax up,If they had to pay for everything out of their wage then it would be a different story, as every thing they have, like cars come free. I need a car to get around. I live 40 miles from my family. There will be a time that a lot of people well not be able to travel. Penalise the car company's for not developing Eco cars not the public we only buy what on for sale in show rooms.
Sid Parker, Uttoxeter

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Added: 11 July 2008 18:07
My road tax will double on a standard family saloon! If this tax is "for the environment" exactly where will the money go? How will it benefit the environment? This is not only going to hit some people hard when it comes to taxing their vehicle, but it'll make some vehicles worthless. I can see the motor market crashing as badly as the housing market (along with everything else!). This government is grinding the country into the ground. The sooner they are out, the better.
Shaun, Stevenage

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Added: 11 July 2008 16:28
£100 per year extra on the scale of things is neither here nor there. I realise it will hurt people who are on the edge of their financial capability, but the best answer is to get the idiot Scottish mafia out of Government and never vote anyone in again who even hints at hammering motorists. the green issue is a con. Putting road tax up won't make any difference anyway as the money raised will be squandered on crackpot notions and MP's expenses. Abolish VED, put it on fuel.
stev metcalfe, melton mowbray

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Added: 11 July 2008 16:28
£100 per year extra on the scale of things is neither here nor there. I realise it will hurt people who are on the edge of their financial capability, but the best answer is to get the idiot Scottish mafia out of Government and never vote anyone in again who even hints at hammering motorists. the green issue is a con. Putting road tax up won't make any difference anyway as the money raised will be squandered on crackpot notions and MP's expenses. Abolish VED, put it on fuel.
stev metcalfe, melton mowbray

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Added: 11 July 2008 16:04
This is such a shame. Especially for me. i have several classic landrovers, one of which was made in 1949. this does have classic tax but it makes my vehicles worthless. and as with the fuel prices going up its going to drive more classic car owners off the road. it such a shame as i am only young and i feel quite strong that my children will never be able to experiance these historical vehicles with the way older vehicles get slated. :-(
Susanne, Grimsby

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Added: 11 July 2008 15:50
Just like most people with common sense I see this new road tax system as another stealth tax.

Road funding should be sourced through fuel purchase. The more you use your vehicle the more you contribute towards road funding.

Ofcourse, there must be concessions for vehicles registered for delivering goods and services otherwise our supermarket bills will become even more unaffordable.
Des Robinson, Enfield

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Added: 11 July 2008 15:02
This is another stealth tax - and NOT a green issue, for example....if I was stupid enough to buy a huge V8 6 ltr 4X4 doing 9 miles or so to the gallon, had no off road parking and drove it only 2 miles in a year I would pay the same as a sales rep with a high band car driving 1000 miles a week? How does this help the environment as arguably my car is kinder because I drive 11,991 miles less than he does?? Road Tax should be scrapped and put on fuel so that those who drive more pay more??
Paul Griffiths, Clifton

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Added: 11 July 2008 14:55
I believe this is an unfair tax it is a retrospective tax and in some cases the vehicle tax will represent a sizable proportion of the total value of the car very little thought has gone into the effect on ordinary people earning below the minum wage already burdened with large increase in fuel/food costs If the chancelor is foolish enough to impliment this then I think that 2010 could be the last yr for the present gov
David Catmull, Fakenham

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Added: 11 July 2008 14:34
Can someone tell me, how come in 2010 I'll have to pay the same to tax my 4x4, 290g CO2 (farmer, sorry) as someone who runs a Ferrari or Rolls Royce, putting out 580g CO2???
Jo, Crewe

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Added: 11 July 2008 14:11
The answer is quite easy. When the labour government is up for re-election don't vote for them. We have a right to a democratic vote-use it!
Mike Irwin, Hexham

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Added: 11 July 2008 14:09
lunacy that is the only explanation for this i will have to pay an extra 245 pounds for my car but if i had bought one 6 months older 185 pounds same c02

hope brown and darling dont get too used to the views out of the windows in Downing street, or is it laurel and hardy my vote will not go to labour any more, hope parkers are going to send these to number 10
gilbert, woodhall spa

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Added: 11 July 2008 14:09
it would be better if they halved the increaseover the 2years,mine is up from £170 to£260 in2009,then£270 in 2010.why have incraeses at all,they have steuck gold already with fuel prices as they are now.cw.
c.wilkins, keiso.scotland

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Added: 11 July 2008 14:07
As if we were not paying enough in parking, congestion,speeding,towing,residents permit charges,+ tyre,exhaust disposable & insurance taxes,not to mention the huge duty and vat on fuel.
MOT AND ROAD TAX WILL KILL THE MOTORING.
Have I missed out anything?
What a farce, asking us to cut down on our food when the whole supply chain is affected by the rising fuel costs. One can easily control the chain by reducing excise duties on fuel.
BUT THAT IS TOO EASY.

Just buy historical cars tax free
josh, London

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Added: 11 July 2008 13:37
We recently sold a 2.5 litre car built in 2000 because it started costing too much to fill with petrol and was not very economical.
We then bought a Mini Cooper to save on petrol which we are now happily savig about £60 per month.
But becuase the car is built after 2001 the tax increase on the new car is huge compared to what our older 2000 car is, even though it's more economical and has less emissions.
Moon, Oxford

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Added: 11 July 2008 11:18
Will more people consider buying pre 1973 cars?

You could have a very nice classic car which a few modern upgrades, a nice big V8 and get FREE road tax!

+ get on classic insurance policy for about £50!

I have a 1969 land rover 3.5L V8, free tax, £90 full comp insurance, barging!
V8 landrover, Petrol town

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Added: 11 July 2008 09:12
Get rid of car tax and bring in toll roads, I think this would be a much fairer option.
Wayne Ramshaw, Sunderland

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Added: 10 July 2008 23:19
Time to get rid of caravans, people carriers etc.
Time to be un eco freindly and jet off on holiday!
Andy, Manchester

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Added: 10 July 2008 23:01
If the government can make this a retrospective tax cos they say so, can I retrospectively recast my vote from the previous general election to "None of the above"
When will we learn that 90% of politicians are only in politics so they can get their snouts in the trough!
They don't live in the real world.
rob, Durham

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Added: 10 July 2008 22:51
The VED increases are without morality.They are constructed without accounting for the financial hardship that moderate income earners will suffer.The uplifted rates have been introduced with improper evaluation of their impact upon a society dependant upon their cars and vans for across the board usage and living now under acute financial stress.It is fair to say that those in government do not live in the real world,they live in their imaginations.
michael vaughan, wokingham

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Added: 10 July 2008 22:46
7 miles from nearest white line... 1000 ft above sea level heating oil 70p/p/l.. derv 138p /p/l road never been repaired for last ten years ..4x4 is a must not a joy .. no bus service or trains now the idiots in power are going to put road tax up to 400+ ..they should try living out side in the real world
gav, ripon

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Added: 10 July 2008 20:23
Scandalous, they need some more money so yet again car drivers foot the bill! Anyone know how this will affect us bike owners?
Rob, Stockport

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Added: 10 July 2008 19:28
We have 3 kids and another one on the way so have every need for an MPV. I bought a 2002 SEAT Alhambra 1.9SE Tdi last year, I could have saved myself a few quid and bought an X reg, but with the later models falling into the CO2 rating and having cheaper tax we went for the newer model.
Well done Mr Brown...my car emits the same as the older model yet is now going to cost me an extra £40 a year...and that on top of spiralling fuel costs.
Labour wont be happy until they've taxed us off the road
Roger, Coalville

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Added: 10 July 2008 18:34
Cannot bloody believe it.I have an 04 Grand voyager with the smallest diesel engine you can get for it (2.5l), I have 4 kids and have this car because i need it... Now i am being punished by the party i have always voted for... guess its my own fault then.Lets face it, Mr Cameron could be a bloody blood sucking Nazi who insists on having sex with all of our woman....on a weekly basis.i reckon we will still vote him in because Brown and Labour have lost the plot.. another £100 4 me 2 find then!
Mark aka Also a former labour voter, coningsby

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Added: 10 July 2008 18:14
I think the new road tax costs are a disgrace. I have recently just bought a car and thought that i would be able to keep it for a few years as its quiet cheap to run.

But i have now found that i could have to pay £100 a year road tax on top of the rising fuels costs. All this while im at university and working part time earning my own money!!

The government say 1 in 3 people will pay more for tax. How come our three ford cars have increased!!

Gordon Brown what a w****r!!!
Matt "Former labour Voter", Staffordshire

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Added: 10 July 2008 18:04
the thing about this tax hike that is really pi**ing me off is that i drive a 2001 lexus is200, registered july 01, therefore my car falls into tax band F and my road tax going up to £430, however somebody with the same car emitting the same emmisions but registered 6 months earlier gets away with it, how can this be justified???
will, crewe

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Added: 10 July 2008 17:56
As the saying goes..."Just when you thought things could not get any worse".

I thought 'EXTORTION' was a criminal offence.

Question: Are the barriers outside the Houses of Parliament there to protect those in power from its own people.

"Ultimate power breeds ultimate corruption".
Steve Newman, Bedford

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Added: 10 July 2008 17:45
With reference to Parkers tip on saving £90 on road tax by only buying 6 months, A better idea is to get 12 months as normal, then before 31st January 2009 post it and get a refund for all the remaining months. Buy 12 months tax to start on 1st Feb. This way, you'll save the 10% charge for 6 months tax, and you'll renew before the rise in 2010, so you won't pay the new rates until Feb 2011.
Matthew Edwards, Hornchurch

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Added: 10 July 2008 17:36
Mr. Browns constant stream of plans to tax motorist's to death have sealed his fate....better make the most off the next 2 years Mr. Brown, they're your last ! ...I've always voted Labour, but NOT any more !
soon to be EX Labour voter, x

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Added: 10 July 2008 17:34
We have had fuel going up and up for years.
If you own a vehicle 2001 up now is the time too change and buy a pre 2001 so you dont lose too much money.Your car IS going to fall in value due too these changes but some models may rise if they are before 2001. Why would you pay up to £400 road tax when simply by buying a slightly older car, of the same model, you could pay the regular costs and save.
Ive done it with a SMART CAR for town and a pre 2001 Merc a class.MAKE THE CHANGES NOW.
KEV KERRY, LOUGHBOROUGH

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Added: 10 July 2008 17:01
Bought a 1.2 Fiat Brava in 2004. What is an economical car (as the keep saying they want economical cars on the road), yet due to its Co2 rating it will be charged £175!!!
Road tax for this car has gone up £50 since I bought it when this takes effect next year.

Now if I had bought a 6 months older one, on a W plate rather then a Y plate, I would be in the old car tax bracket and pay £120.

Is that fair? is it hell.
Andrew Scorgie, Fife

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Added: 10 July 2008 16:41
As pensioners the car tax increase will cause more financial strain, so it looks like the bus passes will be used more, except when shopping, or we will have to go back to the donkey and cart days, thanks to Mr Brown & Co.
D. Wells., Preston, Lancs.

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Added: 10 July 2008 16:36
Absolutly amazing. Labour at it's best. nearly 2 years ago we traded the wifes Range Rover Vogue 3.9 auto gas guzler for a smaller 56 plate 1.6 auto renault clio.....we were good boys and girls...we did what Mr Blair and Mr Brown wanted....got rid of old and bought brand new to save our pocket and the world.....and as a thank you they are now going to charge us £300 road tax and of course we all know every single penny now goes on british Roads doesn't it? Well done the Government. IDIOTS
Tom Willis, Wisbech

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Added: 10 July 2008 16:03
i have recently changed my car to a bmw 325i. when the changes come in to force iwill be in band f 415 pounds yet again we are being penalised to pay for the countrys debt motorist will be at the forefront now because the tax which the government took from cigarettes will decrease because of the smokin ban its got nothing to do with the enviroment .hence i will not be changing my car because no one will want it ps i will not b voteing labour thankyou very much for nothing mr brown
ANDREW MARTIN, MANCHESTER

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Added: 10 July 2008 15:48
So Mr. Darling will tax us even more on our way to-and-from work. We go to work for a disproportionate amount of time seemingly with the objective of paying New Labour's current taxes, as it is.
We can't win.
At least if New Labour abolished Road Tax and added it to fuel duty, we would all only pay for what we actually used and the more thirsty the car, the more tax would be paid by the driver.
When is the election Mr. Brown?
Brett Morris, South Cheshire

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Added: 10 July 2008 15:15
This is just another stealth tax to prop up the governments coffers. Why are they so obsessed with 'carbon imissions' that the UK taxpayers have to suffer. What are other countries such as Russia, China,India, USA doing?? Little or nothing I suspect. Just another way of raiding the pocket of the easiest target. This government makes me sick. Dammed near time they were gone.
It's a pity the public can't band together to do something about it.
Ralph Mannings, Poole

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Added: 10 July 2008 14:16
Road Tax should be on the fuel we buy? to give a true way of paying road tax.
Angelo Marucci, Eastleigh

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Added: 10 July 2008 13:53
My point is that why should older cars be included when they were purchased before the increases were proposed. "The tax is not to increase revenue but to encourage people to be more responsible." Complete bunkum. I drive a bit of a guzzler but I do very few miles in it. I could sell it to someone who will probably do twice as many miles and create twice the pollution. If I can’t sell it, I’ll use it. Where’s the saving on the environment? There isn’t one, the chancellors pockets just got lined
Russ, Sussex

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Added: 10 July 2008 13:21
Here's one, what if we ALL went out and bought a sub 100g/co2 car with free road tax...? You can bet it would not be free for long! I agree the road tax should be on the fuel we buy. Cars should be taxed on the amount of carbon actually emitted per year, not what they have the potential to create. But lets face it, you don't really have to sell your X5's and Porsches just because you tax has gone up a hundred quid do you? (How did you afford to buy it in the first place?!!)
Graham, Earby

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Added: 10 July 2008 13:02
It is time to stop whingeing and face reality. Many of the vehicles on the road today use far more fuel than is necessary and emit more CO2 than is necessary, and the whole World will pay a price for this. How many of the owners of oversized 4 x 4s and double cab pick ups actually need such heavy vehicles? Do not blame the government for belatedly starting to do something about it.
Martin, Kidderminster

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Added: 10 July 2008 10:38
I think this is absolutely outrageous. How can the government justify more than doubling road tax on cars which people already own and could have done so for quite some time. To tax cars dating right back to 2001 in this way is grossly unfair. What are we supposed to do with these older cars? Throw them away? I drive a 2003 V6 which was manufactured long before tax changes were thought of to combat all this greenhouse nonsense.
Russ, East Sussex

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Added: 10 July 2008 09:06
if gordon is so concerned about being green,why did he order a jet from n.y. to come to london to take him to japan ?
vince, purfleet

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Added: 10 July 2008 09:06
if gordon is so concerned about being green,why did he order a jet from n.y. to come to london to take him to japan ?
vince, purfleet

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Added: 10 July 2008 09:05
if gordon is so concerned about being green,why did he order a jet from n.y. to come to london to take him to japan ?
vince, purfleet

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Added: 09 July 2008 12:52
I can't really understand the NEW Road Tax increase! I drive a 2003 CR-V 4X4(2.0)which i bought 3 years ago but only make around 60-80 MILES A WEEK journey and pay more tax compared to OLDER cars or 4X4 of HIGH co2 emissions that travel 200 MILES and MORE in a week... so who's contributing more pollution and is paying less road tax?
I'm into GO GREEN concept but not everyone can afford to buy green cars.
This NEW Road Tax increase is not a GO GREEN .... it's a GO BROWN.
Mr. Bee, Lothian

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Added: 09 July 2008 00:50
I can only concur with all the negative veiws about this abhorent tax. 'Chelsea Tractor' drivers don't blink at 10-15 MPG so are hardly likely to worry about VED. For most of us it is the opposite and we are to pay more tax from our meagre incomes for not being able to afford greener cars. IT IS JUST ANOTHER TAX BURDEN ON GOING TO WORK. Will it be used to make the greener technologies more affordable or to pay for a politian to have a kitchen refit ? I suspect the latter.
Julian Heard, Bourne End

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Added: 07 July 2008 22:34
What i dont get with the government, is they are hitting the people again!
Why not look at what there doing themselves... How may rockets? how many shuttles a year go up?
The new tax classes are a sham, its just ANOTHER way of them to make money.
My vectra sri puts out no imissions and nore does my 300zx, but it looks like i will have to sell them.
I saw we should all just stop paying, i thought it went on the roads anyway? you should see our single track roads here, no double track at all.
Ian Taylor, Isle of Benbecula, Scotland

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Added: 07 July 2008 14:48
I recently purchased a used Ford KA, believing that because these are renound for being economical, the road tax would be cheaper.

I was wrong. It's actually more expensive because of the new calculations. I'm shocked. If I'd have bought a KA 6 months older, tax would have cost £25 less. How does that work? How can an older car of exactly the same spec be greener?

Yet another stupid government idea.
Anthony, Ipswich

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Added: 06 July 2008 21:56
I have Toyota Avensis 1.8 SE, and i think the rising fuel prices are unjustifiable, i wouldnt mind paying even £60 extra more on my car tax if it meant i would pay 30p less on a litre of petrol. And as some people say i think fuel tax or road tax has nothing to do with lowering cargon emission,lets face it people have to drive cars to work, why? expensive, unreliable public transport, so i think that poor families will get poorer and rich government will get richer because or road, and fuel tax.
Steve, Bedford

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Added: 06 July 2008 17:10
I would have no objections to paying road tax if the money was spent on what the tax was introduced for, namely roads! What we have now, and with the future price hikes is an emission tax. It would be interesting to know how much of the new tax is going to the public transport infrastructure, not a lot I suspect as most of public transport is privatised. Yet another backdoor tax!!!!
David, Preston

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Added: 04 July 2008 00:20
Is Gordon Brown listening to middle England? The tax hikes on the motorist are alienating a very large section of the voting public. I'm all for going green but those of us who bought our cars before these proposals, are being penalised. There needs to be more pressure on the motor industry to produce economical cars the public want to buy in order to change trends. Pressganging the public won't go down too well Mr Brown.
Alan Mclachlan, Bexleyheath

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Added: 03 July 2008 00:13
Once again another rip off by Brown and his so called team, we need to put a stop to this right now, petrol is at £1.20 min and now road tax going up to this so called 'green' level, like we all say it has NOTHING TO DO WITH BEING GREEN. I can see the point in higher tax on a new car with high emmissions but to take it back onto cars that were built before all this came along is just crazy. GET RID OF BROWN.
Matthew, Bedfordhsire

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Added: 02 July 2008 10:51

Please remember everyone out there, you are ALL voters! YOU have the power and the government work for us not visa versa.They seem to forget that.
IF you don't like the new taxes then vote for a more fair minded government.We know its not for Green reasions but for subsidising the private bus and rail companies and the tresury .

They seem to forget we are VOTERS, time to say ENOUGH!

alex de capua, aldershot

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Added: 02 July 2008 10:14
New car tax rates are an absolute disgrace, road users are already taxed over and above the limit and get very poor return with pot holes in the roads and road improvements delayed for years so they end up costing twice as much. We used to laugh at the state of the roads in Belgium, now Britains are far worse and we pay extortion amounts to use them. The general public and mortoring organisations need to protest loudly before it's too late!
Pauline, Northampton

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Added: 02 July 2008 08:25
hi how can they rip us of again got sports car only use it weekends so i dont do much poluting the same as someone doing 30000 miles ayear i do 5000 ayear so why should i stump up twice the amount its a 2003 their was no mension of tax going so dear when i got it they do it when you all have got yuor cars already so you are stuck whith it then the dealers come out to rip you of then noone wants this car now to dear to tax so yuor left owing thousands more than your car is worth well done //////
ian, preston

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Added: 01 July 2008 23:19
well ive been a labour party supporter since leaving school and from now on my vote will be going elsewhere,how dare they punish me from driving when already i pay road tax-fuel tax-income tax-council tax the list goes on and on,i roughly drive 3000 miles per year in my 4x4 which i bought for safety reasons and im being hammered for doing less miles than mr average.Thats so poor mr brown
graham bell, wishaw

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Added: 01 July 2008 21:02
They should reduce the fuel tax and road tax and increase it on other things like tobacco. Everybody has to drive but nobody needs to smoke!
Himesh, Dunstable

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Added: 01 July 2008 17:14
I have a four children and therefore need to drive a 7 seater MPV. It's not a 'Chelsea tractor' and is needed purely for its seating space. Why should I have to pay £455 a year (the highest bracket)just because I bought my car after 2001. By doubling my road tax, is not going to make the enviroment cleaner in any way!! The Government can't retrospectively charge me more!
Simon Posen, London

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Added: 30 June 2008 23:13
Road tax should be done away with, the tax should be put on fuel, The more you use the more you pay, All the bods running around endlessly on plates from outside the uk would also pay, easy & cheap to set up & fair also no funds spent chasing road tax evaders.
Mark Footman, London

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Added: 30 June 2008 18:24
I believe that Brown and Darling should resign. This increase in VED is not in any way connected to saving the planet, how can it be when two identicle vehicles with the same emissions are paying different amounts.

As for the comment from the cyclist in Edinburgh I would respond by saying 'GET A LIFE'
BAZ, KIRKCALDY

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Added: 29 June 2008 14:49
All your commentators seem to accept that co2 emmissions by motor vehicles matter.
Its all rubbish, for instance, every time Mount Etna burps it emits as much co2, h2s, so2 etc as all the cars in Europe for one year.
As John Redwood famously observed, the amount of co2 in the atmosphere of Venus is increasing, yet we don't see anyone rampaging across its surface in gas guzzling 4x4s!

Look at the informed anti-green lobby on the internet. Make your own minds up!
Alistair Darling, London

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Added: 28 June 2008 10:47
However you hype or spin it, Brown is not green! Given the way our society has developed, people HAVE to travel to work and to supermarkets etc. There will NEVER be enough flexibility in public transport to cope with any large reduction in car use. The only way is a return to living closer to work and shops. This "localisation" would reduce everyone's costs and reduce use of resources of all types. This would be a green move! But no government has the ability to make this culture change.
Dave, Bradford

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Added: 26 June 2008 21:51
Having bought what I thought was a greenish 1.9D Berlingo which is capable of over 50mpg (nowband J;very clever Chancellor, you knew exactly which CO2 level to hit hard)I am disgusted as to the way in which taxes seem to creep into our lives when we think we are doing the right thing. It appears very strange that as with our ever increasing council tax (which also NEVER decreases in price or remains below inflation ),our cars are being treated similarly. Avg JO cannot win. Let's all move abroad!
AJ, Huddersfield

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Added: 26 June 2008 18:50
The green car tax increase is needed to help the enviroment,and pay for all MP's parlimentry expenses
Gordon Brown, Westminster

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Added: 26 June 2008 13:01
Once again the Labour Goverment have ripped us off again !. Ok if you work in Parlament they can spend there £500 expences a month on there Road Tax .Its about time the Voting public does something about it! Kick them out and bring in Jeremy Clarkson.
Greg, LUTON

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Added: 26 June 2008 11:29
If we dont like the new tax system we can make our opnions known at the next election
Kevin, London

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Added: 26 June 2008 00:40
Brown government's green idea of taxing the alleged black smoky cars is 'red'iculous. It is evident that he wants to ensure a Tory win in the next election.
Santhana, Birmingham

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Added: 25 June 2008 13:59
I can understand green policies but this Tax, in my opinion is nothing to do with the environment but more to do with the government making an excuse to rake in Further Taxes. People driving bigger cars pay more tax anyway because their car burns more fuel (Which is also taxed to death!). If it is a green policy why is the rest of the world driving in 4/5/6ltr vehicles? I also be-grudge being penalised on a car I bought 2 years ago before this new legislation came into force.
Adam, Derby

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Added: 24 June 2008 15:18
I run a higher emission vehicle.Its a sports cars but i only cover 2000 miles per year for weekend use.Gordon brown wants more money off me to tax my vehicle due to its emissions.How does he work this out?The guy with the low emission vehicle may be doing 30 times more mileage than myself.Its a totally unfair pricing system.Road Tax should be on the fuel.You make the emission you pay for it.
Richy, leeds

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Added: 24 June 2008 12:31
This car tax increase is just an attempt raise revenue. By making this decision with a retrospective effect surely shows that the fact that it has nothing to do with the environment. I am sad to see no group or political group had mounted any protest against this gross injustice .
Mat, Whitton

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Added: 24 June 2008 12:31
This car tax increase is just an attempt raise revenue. By making this decision with a retrospective effect surely shows that the fact that it has nothing to do with the environment. I am sad to see no group or political group had mounted any protest against this gross injustice .
Mat, Whitton

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Added: 24 June 2008 12:30
This car tax increase is just an attempt raise revenue. By making this decision with a retrospective effect surely shows that the fact that it has nothing to do with the environment. I am sad to see no group or political group had mounted any protest against this gross injustice .
Mat, Whitton

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Added: 24 June 2008 00:49
This is not a green tax, its a bloody excuse to rob more money off the motorist. My dad bought a 54 plate mondeo v6 estate to carry his dogs in, and is now going to be hit with a £420 a year road tax bill, who will want to buy his car when he comes to sell it, he's going to lose out big time, but who pays the tax on Brown and his cronies big government motors, we do. Greedy government say no more.
Terry, Trimdon Co Durham

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Added: 23 June 2008 23:11
I have worked my rear off all my life putting up with rubbish old bangers that I'm sure caused all the global warming on there own. NOW at last I can afford new much cleaner cars that also give me and my family some comfort and prestige ONLY to get penalised by an ignorant government for the privilege. I'm sorry I can't say anymore I'm to p*%% off
Paul, Birmingham

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Added: 23 June 2008 11:09
Ridiculous! How can they justify apllying it retrospectively? This means my 2.0l N reg Laguna that does 40 mpg long distance (in fairness it is a motorway car) will be cheaper than newer cars!
I need a car for my job - I travel all over the UK and am looking to get a newer car, but perhaps I'll wait for abit and see the effects once this comes in. I would love a greener car, but new LPGs are very expensive, and now no longer seem that beneficial finacially, and the price of diesel is horrendous
Jack, Ellistown

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Added: 22 June 2008 14:28
What an amazing, brilliant money grabbing idea the new car tax is. My 06 diesel, which is clean and green is going to cost in excess of £400 a year to tax, but the smoking polluting 99 registered 4X4 that parks next to me is only going to pay £210, that makes sense. They should call it the "Anything you have thats nice tax" that way we would all understand it. Introduce a "stupid idea" tax, that might stop them coming up with things like this.
J Nicolson, Herne Bay Kent

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Added: 21 June 2008 01:09
An absolute rip off. I bought a new Kia Sedona diesel in November 2007 with all the emission controls only to find that the road tax was £300 going up to £400 this year and £430 after, so I will be taking it off the road when the tax renewal comes in. Road tax should be put back to what is was. These new rules have nothing to do with this so called climate change nonsense. If every one buys small cars they will claim we're all going green.
James Carruthers, Sidcup

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Added: 20 June 2008 14:45
I feel the new tax proposal should be scrapped and a rethink by Mr Darling. I have always thought of England as a fair country to live in but I'm afraid when you have saved hard, bought a car, 1.8 cc,where is the fairness ? It does over 30mpg, it's my pride and joy. The emissions are 225, one over the threshold of the higher car tax band; my tax will double in 2010. So now I am left with the possibility that my car will de-value and do I change the car when I had no reason to do so ?Ludicrous
Richard Gee, Lixwm, North Wales

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Added: 20 June 2008 14:08
This retrospective tax is iniquitous. My car was registered on the 21st of March 2001 and in 2009/2010 will cost over 220% more to tax than an identical car registered 3 weeks earlier!
The proposal is ridiculous and totally unfair. If one intends to buy a new car, one can make the decision on the tax implications but to impose arbitrary charges when decisions were made in good faith is frightening. The next stage will be to fine people for speeding on a road restricted after they passed!
Malcolm Ball, Macclesfield

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Added: 20 June 2008 13:23
This, along with fuel tax hikes is sadly nothing to do with environmental concerns which have been ramped up in the media in a totally unbalanced fashion to attempt a justification of fleecing motorists for every penny the government can get away with. Both forms of taxation are excessive and totally out of proportion to any perceived problem.
James, Isle of Wight

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Added: 19 June 2008 09:54
I bought a 1.4 peugeot in 2003 to last for my retirement. On a standard pension now there is no way I can afford to change my car. I had thought of LPG but it seems from comments that won't help. As my son says we will cause far more polution building new cars than is caused by exausts of the older ones.
I don't think a change of government would help any but the rich going by past records, but this one does seem to have some blind spots.
My nearest bus route is over 1 mile, and 5 to shops
ann, wraxall

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Added: 18 June 2008 22:37
i an fumming over this tax happy goverment, i think if this road tax was spent on our roads so they were has smooth has silk then i could understand the increase but its not, i have a 2002 alfa 147 2.0 ts lusso with really stiff suspension and i am sick of driving around the roads hitting pot holes and badly serviced tarmac that is wrecking my car and costing me a fortune in suspension parts, i think we in the uk should all join forces and rise up against this goverment cause we have had enough
ian chadwick, stoke on trent

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Added: 18 June 2008 00:02
As long as labour remain in power we humble motorists will get done over again and again, its not like we need our cars to get to work, because public transport is so perfect.....NOT!
Stewart, Crewe

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Added: 16 June 2008 12:28
what annoys me is i thought the point in road tax was to help maintain the road network, so why should any vehicle be exempt from it? huh?
steven price, glasgow

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Added: 16 June 2008 01:12
Hello - Does any one know the governments bank number, and sort code, so I can pay my pension direct, on a weekly standing order, to save the the buggers, sucking it away with my transport costs.
Ps - New diet on the market - don't eat - drive a car.
Andy Greer, Kings Lynn

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Added: 15 June 2008 09:11
The new road tax is like the new income tax it will hit the lower paid workers not the rich. I always by an old large car because they are so much cheaper to buy than a small car and since I do low mileage the overall cost is less. If you want a green tax then have fuel coupons so we are all limited to same car usage per year. Not a policy where if you have money you can do as you like.
J Simnett, Norwich

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Added: 14 June 2008 19:31
The thing that annoys me is the complete dishonesty of it all - raising money under the guise of being green. I drive a Subaru Impreza non-turbo, manufactured in October 2000, registered in July 2001. My tax will be 300pounds from next year. If I decided to buy an imported turbo version registered prior to March 2001, I would pay 185pounds, for a car with 260+ bhp and 15 mpg. I'll just drink one less pint of beer a week to pay for the increase - Brown won't force me off the road.
Dave Tandy, Cardiff

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Added: 14 June 2008 12:50
Because my Smart City Coupe Pulse 2000, registered in 2001 has a CO2 emission of 122 it falls JUST into Band C, which starts at 121, and I will be paying £85 more than Band B and more recent Smarts....Question - why so confusing? What does one unit of CO2 emission look like? Can I do something to reduce it? Isn't a very short, 599cc, high mpg, 2 seater with only 9,000 miles on the clock environmentally and city friendly and therefore should be incentivised?
Smart car owner, Central London

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Added: 14 June 2008 12:41
It's an absolute disgrace. it's one thing to try and influence choice on a new car, but to apply this retrospectively to cars people have already bougt is dispicable! When will Brown & Co realise picking on the motorist is picking on the vast majority of voters: Brown Out!!!!!

Andy Goulden, Warrington

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Added: 14 June 2008 09:48
I know the new tax laws are confusing and some people are going to have to pay more BUT i think theres some scare mongering which is stopping people buying cars 3-4 years old hurting the industry.

Yesterday a customer told me he wont buy a 04 focus after missreading your article and incorrectly thinking he will be paying over£400 on 2010. this isnt the case its closer to £270 which would be more inline with inflation. Can you please make your facts clear. Its hurting the trade your trying of.
stuart webber, alton

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Added: 13 June 2008 22:44
Lets not forget folks that this is nothing about "saving the planet", there is no proof whatsoever that global warning is man made (anyway, if the government were that bothered about Co2 emmissions, why have they started to build new coal-powered power stations which emit more than 3 times more Co2 than conventional gas or oil powered ones) its about bolstering a failing economy, the UK is being destroyed by Brown and his cronies... Greed and incompetence are the ONLY reasons for the increases..
Steven Michael McGill, Northumberland

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Added: 13 June 2008 12:58
This country is fast becoming one big Joke. Even the die hard labour supporters must recognise Brown and his team of inept advisers will continue to introduce more and more tax grabbing initatives until the economy comes to a grinding halt! An election should be called at once; but it won't because these people who apparently 'care' about the country actually care more about thier own jobs! Useless, completely and utterly selfish incompetent fools! God help us because 'New' Labour wont!
michael white, hornchurch, essex

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Added: 12 June 2008 11:03
This is absolutely total rubbish. Selfish? NO! If someone wants to drive a high co2 car then why shouldnt they? This country is supposed to be about free will isnt it, then why are we all be forced off the roads with such ridiculous prices and encouraged to buy new low emmisions cars that people cant afford even on finance in many cases because of rising general living costs? When will this government give us a break? Atleast good old gordon can get his hols in though unlike many of us!
Lisa, Peterborough

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Added: 11 June 2008 00:16
Came on here to find details of Volvo S60.Run a 940SE Turbo at present,when I saw Tax for S60 for this year and 2010 I think I will stick with 940.But pretty sure will soon sell to Mr Brown as he wont have a company car much longer, I know he,s got the dosh as I have given him loads out of my pension and dental/glasses cost,to be fair he does give me free meds to keep me ticking,but if I did not have to pay tax I would not need meds.I would use buses but they don,t have tow bars to pull my van
Gordon Dunnell, Peterborough

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Added: 10 June 2008 09:15
The CO2 based VED has been publicised since 2001/2 as a basis of getting people to buy and use low CO2 cars. It is part of an essential part of CO2 reduction, it's fair and frankly people who complain about it are either ignorant or selfish in the extreme. There is no need to drive these brute cars like Porsche Cayene etc. and I believe unless special purpose reasons apply there is no need for cars above 150 CO2. e.g. My own is a Megane Estate 124 CO2 and I tow a 16' boat & sheep trailer.
Frank Riddle I eng MIRTE, Nutbourne Pulborough sussex

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Added: 09 June 2008 22:33
My car will jump to a wooping £455 a year because I'm a family man who needs a large car. Today was the press release for the upcoming congestion charge into Manchester £5 a day. Labour.....the working mans party, ha! ha!....Why am I working 6 days a week to pay tax to support all these freeloaders and people who have never paid into the system. I think I'll develop a limp and claim benifit with a free car and spend more time with my kids or Australia here we come. Proud to be English.....NOT
Andy Pownall, Manchester

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Added: 09 June 2008 22:33
My car will jump to a wooping £455 a year because I'm a family man who needs a large car. Today was the press release for the upcoming congestion charge into Manchester £5 a day. Labour.....the working mans party, ha! ha!....Why am I working 6 days a week to pay tax to support all these freeloaders and people who have never paid into the system. I think I'll develop a limp and claim benifit with a free car and spend more time with my kids or Australia here we come. Proud to be English.....NOT
Andy Pownall, Manchester

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Added: 09 June 2008 22:31
My car will jump to a wooping £455 a year because I'm a family man who needs a large car. Today was the press release for the upcoming congestion charge into Manchester £5 a day. Labour.....the working mans party, ha! ha!....Why am I working 6 days a week to pay tax to support all these freeloaders and people who have never paid into the system. I think I'll develop a limp and claim benifit with a free car and spend more time with my kids or Australia here we come. Proud to be English.....NOT
Andy Pownall, Manchester

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Added: 09 June 2008 22:31
My car will jump to a wooping £455 a year because I'm a family man who needs a large car. Today was the press release for the upcoming congestion charge into Manchester £5 a day. Labour.....the working mans party, ha! ha!....Why am I working 6 days a week to pay tax to support all these freeloaders and people who have never paid into the system. I think I'll develop a limp and claim benifit with a free car and spend more time with my kids or Australia here we come. Proud to be English.....NOT
Andy Pownall, Manchester

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Added: 09 June 2008 22:31
My car will jump to a wooping £455 a year because I'm a family man who needs a large car. Today was the press release for the upcoming congestion charge into Manchester £5 a day. Labour.....the working mans party, ha! ha!....Why am I working 6 days a week to pay tax to support all these freeloaders and people who have never paid into the system. I think I'll develop a limp and claim benifit with a free car and spend more time with my kids or Australia here we come. Proud to be English.....NOT
Andy Pownall, Manchester

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Added: 09 June 2008 22:29
There have been two personal income tax cuts this year (22% to 20%, and tax-free personal allowance raised by £600). That will more than cover any rise in vehicle excise duty for most people who work.

To those who blame Gordon Brown for the current global financial crisis - what alternative are you suggesting? Voting the tories back in? That's it - vote tory and strike a blow to global capitalism!
Dan, London

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Added: 09 June 2008 15:40
How about we all start sending our repair bills to the government to pay for broken shocks, burst tyres and any other damage caused by the state of the roads that our road tax is supposed to pay for. Where would the money come from if all the bunny huggers got their way and we all stopped driving ? Bye bye Labour its been emotinal
T huck, Leighton Buzzard

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Added: 09 June 2008 10:21
The imperative word in 'Road tax' is "Tax”. The effect this has on the economy is very bad, everyone suffers. We live in the shadow of a poor government run by below average ministers. As Winston Churchill once commented, trying to tax a country into good health works as well as standing in a bucket and trying to lift it off the ground! Let’s hope this bucket is kicked away sooner rather then later!
michael white, hornchurch, essex

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Added: 09 June 2008 08:13
I think I'll give up commuting to work and sign on to benefits. That would be environmentally friendly!

The fact is I need my car to get to work and can't afford to change my car - they might as well increase income tax as far as I'm concerned. Oh - wait they've done that too!

As for those who say we should all live close to work and cycle there - house prices are astronomical in most city centres. Ave house 10 times ave wage! Enough said.
Gerry, Belfast

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Added: 09 June 2008 07:19
I drive a car with 295gr emissions and get an average of 26mpg but I only do 3k miles pa.Someone who drives a Focus doing 25k pa with an average of 35mpg is emmiting far more Co2 than i am and wearing out the road more than i do but i have to pay more tax. I have been quoted £2200 to convert to LPG which will reduce my emmisions to 180 but road tax will only go down by £20, how does this help the environment? if we all downsized to £35 tax with 50mpg then road and fuel tax would have to go up.
rob detenon, romford

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Added: 09 June 2008 01:20
Why no concessions for vehicles that have been converted to run on lpg...and how dare they apply such laws retrospectively.
Who for a moment thinks this is anything to do with 'saving the planet'rather than another petty underhand tax grab...hopefully one too far.
John McAllister, Bebington

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Added: 08 June 2008 22:30
I feel sorry about the people who own a Motor Home, or have to tow a caravan. you don't see these people who make these decions having to struggle or worry about what they are doing to the country, what bothers me is that we voted these people in
Jez, Portchester Hants

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Added: 08 June 2008 21:33
Considering the continual rise in petrol costs this rise road tax is stupidity itself. How can the government expect the average worker to continue to afford to actually run a car. Especially when the national milage rate paid the public sector workers has not changed since 2003, as it is based on the standard amount stated by the Dept of Transport! Rediculous! I highly doubt this will change the % of road tax actually spent on improving the roads, currently about 15% I understand. Disgraceful
Steven Mayne, Gateshead

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Added: 08 June 2008 21:14
I can understand the increase in road tax on new cars but not on older cars bought before the tax increases were anounced, why not put the duty on the fuel then the people who do more mileage and create more pollution would pay for the privalage that would encourage either less mileage or more efficient cars.
nigel towers, preston

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Added: 08 June 2008 10:20
Geoff Barker made a great point about abolishing road tax and adding it to fuel duty. It would save the Government millions in lost revenue and stop wasting countless hours pursuing the offenders. The current road tax system is unfair when the same car causing the same amount of pollution costs £70 more when registered a month later, as in the case of the 2001 Nissan Primera.
Mark Ferris, Shepperton

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Added: 08 June 2008 01:43
I bought a daewoo matiz , a 0.8 version , thinking that a smaller car would be cheaper on taxes , not so im afraid. I also have a friend who has a ford maverick ,pre emission check figures , who isn't going to be affected by this .
finally my other car is a kia carens which is at 216 kg/m3 which I bought part exchanging using a vauxhall frontera k reg . I would have been better off keeping the frontera with its awful exhuast emissions , including black soot , oh well they have gone nuts
stuart swarbrick, cwmbran

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Added: 08 June 2008 00:23
They are not doing enough. They need to tripple the tax on fuel, outlaw any personal cars over 2L. Make people move closer to work so they can cycle or walk. cars have destroyed our communities and are turning us all into a load of fat whiners. Yes me included.
pjf, Bristol

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Added: 07 June 2008 23:12
Road tax is unecessary as heavier fuel users already pay more by way of fuel duty & VAT thereon.

If road tax was abolished and the lost revenue added to fuel duty, then the heavier user would pay more & the light user less. Also there would be no drivers prosecuted for un-licensed vehicles.

It seems to me that road tax is a means of keeping down unemployment by unecessary jobs.

If 3rd party insurance was added to fuel duty, then no uninsured drivers!

Savings in police & court costs!
Geoff Barker, Bradford

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Added: 07 June 2008 19:58
Once again it's the motorist that gets hammered by these'so called' green taxes. I am all for helping save the planet but I would love to know where all this extra money that they keep squeezing out of us is actually going and what enviromental strategies it's paying for? sorry but am I too naive to think it's just going in the governments coffers and none of it is actually going anywhere near anything enviromental. Like my family of 5 can fit in a city car!! get real!!!!
stephen farrar, osset west yorkshire

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Added: 07 June 2008 19:44
Gordon Brown & his pals are a bunch of hypocrites! Stop investing in the real polluters of this world. China, India & the States! Leave us Great British public alone. We're working our fingers to the bone for you & for what? Get lost Brown, we need an election!!
Alison Toker, Keighley

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Added: 07 June 2008 14:21
All labour are doing is leaving the chance to own a large family car to the rich. They will still buy them whatever.
A large family needs a large car whether poor or rich.
This Labour Government is killing its own voters and committing hara-kiri.
a cole, stevenage

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Added: 07 June 2008 14:04
It wouldn't be so bad if the money raised went to reducing our carbon footprint, however this move is nothing more that a money generator for an out of touch Labour government that will be lucky to on to their seats in the next general election.

Bring on the new movie which spells out labour … Taking liberties

http://www.noliberties.com/
Lee Carter, Stafford

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Added: 07 June 2008 13:31
I have a car that I only drive for 3 months of the year - its in the M band. I never tax it for more than those 3 months. I buy 6 months tax in May and send it back for a refund in early september.

The other car I own gives out more CO2 than concorde, is registerd before Y2K and I do around 20k pa.

"Excellent green tax initiative Gordon!"

With the Economy stalling and treasury tax receipts about to plunge, brace yourselves for the biggest round of tax increase since the WW1.
smlaing, Aylesbury

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Added: 07 June 2008 11:41
I hava a MG ZT 2.5SE (190ps) saloon and have just paid £400 to tax it for 12 months. I drive about 4000 miles per annum on short breaks and holidays only. My wife drives a 1.4 Fiesta and rarely drives less than 18000 miles every year but pays around £120 to tax her car. I just cannot see the logic behind the new tax regulations!
D Griffith, Barry

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Added: 07 June 2008 10:07
Suddenly Road Fund Tax hikes are interesting and new? For fifty years we have had to pay tax rises like others in the world, but why now are certain bodies wanting to raise the issue more?

I like everyone else have all the info available to me to make an informed choice about what car size etc. when it relates to Tax. I did. I bought my Ciroen C4 with the knowledge that the tax would be much lower (£35) but I did not realise my Insurance would be lower too.Dont play Politics.

Peter Ryde, Cambridge

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Added: 07 June 2008 09:15
I bought an Alfa 156 as a weekend summer car a few days before this rip off was announced. I will be paying £310 for approx the 3,000miles I will do in this car. But it is OK I can do 40,000miles in my company car for £115 per annum. Is this fair, course its not. What produces the most emmisions over the year. Yes it is my Toyota Avensis, that is used every day and gets cheap tax. Logical no, unfair Yes!!!!!
Mark Smithard, Chichester

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Added: 07 June 2008 08:40
As usual this government is hitting the ordinary man in the street and not the real culprits that should be paying more.

All the immigrants that live and drive in this country can do what they like as most are registered in their home country and therefore avoid all the taxes that we have to pay. Get the priorities right and stop this immigration of eastern europe to the UK and stop hitting the motorist and ordinary tax payer.
laurie, exeter

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Added: 07 June 2008 02:37
We have three cars, all three converted to LPG, as advised by our wonderful government. All low emissions, but road tax will be £1030 for all three. Our DARLING idiot chancellor, should abolish road fund licence, and tax us about 5p a litre, for the fuel we use. The average family uses approx 50 litres per week, so £130 per annum is fair, and those of us who do more, or less miles per annum would be fairly charged, and those buggers that don't pay at all, won't get away with it.
Andy, Norfolk

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Added: 07 June 2008 02:13
I own a Seat Toledo 1.8L (a common sized engine) 02-reg which will cost me £270 I have a friend who has a 1990 v8 12.3L Chevy which nitrous,and is getting about 4-6mpg but only pays £180 tax

I recommend that we all buy older cars and just spend the extra at the pumps, which are't cheap either.

what about these cheap flights off to the far east with only half seat filled, now that's a good place to tax and cut down on co2. That 747 pumps more co2 than my 1.8. so tax them, not average Joe
Jack J, Hatfield

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Added: 06 June 2008 22:14
Riddle me this, oh genius Gordon Brown. How does paying more road tax actually reduce the existing emissions from my car? Getting more money doesn't actually change my carbon footprint.
It's the same old story with this government: punish everybody in some way, shape or form for simply being a British citizen. Not for them the idea of incentive or the carrot & stick. An administration out of fresh ideas and obsessed with making money out of the motoring cash-cow.
Malcolm, Tonbridge

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Added: 06 June 2008 22:13
Brown should be sacked and Darling should follow him out of government A.S.A.P. anyone with minimal intellegence should be able to omprehend that increasing road tax by such an amount is not only morally wrong it is a criminal act. How can it be logical to charge two different amounts of money for identical cars producing 226K/gm. One owner has to pay £200+ more just because the vehicle was registered before march 2001. This proves it's not to save the planet, but to screw the motorist again.
Baz, Glenrothes

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Added: 06 June 2008 22:06
It's a scandle that the V.E.L. duty is to increase by such a drastic amount. Lies about saving the planet being the main reason are totally false. Brown should check who are the main polluters of the world and the fact that what he intends to do will not make any difference to global warming etc, his stealth tax is only going to screw more hard working low income famalies.
Baz, Glenrothes

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Added: 06 June 2008 21:24
we have a 52 1.6 beetle (hardly a v8 range rover) yet under the new laws our tax bill is £260. my neighbour has a 2.0 W beetle same emissions 185g/kg they pay £180. i can buy a r reg jag xk8 4.0 v8 tax £180 - makes perfect sense. the government say run an old gas guzzler pay more fuel duty screw the enviroment, if you have enough money to buy a newer car we'll have more money from you. rip off britain!
Mark Jackson, Burton on Trent

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Added: 06 June 2008 20:32
Having worked hard and saved for a new car I am now likely to be paying double for my road tax under these proposals whilst hundreds of thousands flout the law and dont bother paying or drive old gas guzzling cars which pump out huge emmissions. Why cant the government see sense and add 1p per litre to fuel to cover road taxes so everybody pays. Time the Labour government went before they cripple everybody financially.
Richard P, Ringwood

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Added: 06 June 2008 19:36
It's unfair taxing cars according to their emissions, as it does not take into account the mileage travelled. it is possible to have someone with a car in a low tax band producing more C02 in a year than someone with a higher band car, yet still pay less road tax having used the roads more and produced more CO2. If the government got rid of road tax and put 10p on a litre then every one pays proportionately. money would be saved on by not having to enforce the tax and its collection.
Stu, Plymouth

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Added: 06 June 2008 19:21
This whole tax hike is disgusting. Why are the government so GREEDY?. Can someone tell me why I would be paying the same road tax for my 2.2 Vectra as someone driving a 4.4 Range Rover. Where's the justification in that? When these greedy pigs get driven around in 1.0 litre car instead of a 5 litre Merc then and only then will this sound anywhere near fair. This government should be chucked out, they are nothing but greedy B*****ds. From a disgusted and soon to be very skint driver!!
David Batchelor, London

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Added: 06 June 2008 19:13
Yet another stealth tax by this useless Government. If they were serious about making the polluter pay they would scrap road tax and if necessary recover the appropriate levy on already too expensively taxed petrol. That way the motorists would pay on the basis of the mileage and hence those using their vehicles the most would pay the most.
Jim Mc Gavin, Glasgow

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Added: 06 June 2008 18:56
It's unfair taxing cars according to their emissions, as it does not take into account the mileage travelled. it is possible to have someone with a car in a low tax band producing more C02 in a year than someone with a higher band car, yet still pay less road tax having used the roads more and produced more CO2. If the government got rid of road tax and put 10p on a litre then every one pays proportionately. money would be saved on trying to enforce the tax and its collection.
Stu, Plymouth

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Added: 06 June 2008 18:50
This is yet another quite cynical Government method of taxing the motorist and to raise additional taxes. If they really wanted to limit emmissions they would instruct manufacturers that engines with x emmissions limit per size of engine must be produced by whatever date. Note: I voted for this bunch!!
Brian Moore, Bury St Edmunds

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Added: 06 June 2008 18:39
I have a Shogun Sport 2.5 Diesel registered in 2001. I have reduced the millage I do by working from home.

The car is useful as its a good family car and great for enjoying the Countryside. This tax is yet another attack on rural Britain and the sooner this Government is out the better.

They seem to want to make Britain suffer for the Worlds problems - Like we will make a difference with China pumping out so much CO2. Its all a con.
George Brown, Westbury

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Added: 06 June 2008 18:30
It's unfair taxing cars according to their emissions, as it does not take into account the mileage travelled. it is possible to have someone with a car in a low tax band producing more C02 in a year than someone with a higher band car, yet still pay less road tax having used the roads more and produced more CO2. If the government got rid of road tax and put 10p on a litre then every one pays proportionately. money would be saved on trying to enforce the tax and its collection.
Stu, Plymouth

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Added: 06 June 2008 18:27
As usual it's easy to blame the motorist
steal off us make billions of pound's in tax.Globalwarming is the biggest rip-off ever.If it was'nt for all the foriegn vehicle's on are road's not paying but benefiting from this country,we would be a lot less polluting.
collin tolley, Hereford

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Added: 06 June 2008 18:17
Yet another tax on the motorist, this government won't be happy until only the rich can use a car bigger than a postage stamp.
Lets just hope the next lot to get in power are better.
John Dewsbury, Dukinfield

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Added: 06 June 2008 18:09
It's unfair taxing cars according to their emissions, as it does not take into account the mileage travelled. it is possible to have someone with a car in a low tax band producing more C02 in a year than someone with a higher band car, yet still pay less road tax having used the roads more and produced more CO2. If the government got rid of road tax and put 10p on a litre then every one pays proportionately. money would be saved on trying to enforce the tax and its collection.
Stu, Plymouth

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Added: 06 June 2008 17:52
I bought a daewoo matiz , a 0.8 version , thinking that a smaller car would be cheaper on taxes , not so im afraid. I also have a friend who has a ford maverick ,pre emission check figures , who isn't going to be affected by this .
finally my other car is a kia carens which is at 216 kg/m3 which I bought part exchanging using a vauxhall frontera k reg . I would have been better off keeping the frontera with its awful exhuast emissions , including black soot , oh well they have gone nuts
stuart swarbrick, cwmbran

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Added: 06 June 2008 17:46
This will penalise those who cannot afford a new "more green" car. Whether the government like it or not the motor vehicle is an integral part of society and most will see this as another way of squeezing more cash from the public. Perhaps if they offset the rise by reducing the tax element in petrol it would be more palatable but I have more chance of flying to the moon! Hopefully this will be a vote loser for labour and if it is let the new government party beware.
Cliff, Haywards Heath

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Added: 06 June 2008 17:36
I purchased a Ford Galaxy 2.3 Ghia last year for my wife and 3 children and as it has 7 seats we have been able to take my mother in law on holiday last year and this year.

We also take friends of the children around in the Ford Galaxy. We have another car my wife uses for work but having the 7 seater means we do not need 2 cars to go on holiday or transport friends around.

Now we will have to pay more for using one car instead of 2!! Where is the logic of that!

Martyn Rickets, Evesham

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Added: 06 June 2008 17:07
Absolute disgrace, no roads are up to scratch, the money is offset against other losses.People work long and hard to enjoy luxury items,now the govenment want make life has hard as possible + we pay enough taxes through salaries
Labour have totally lost the plot.should be called Sheriff of Nottingham
Ask Brown and mp's to get rid of company cars which we pay for and purchase and run one personally and not able to claim expenses, see how quick he changes it all then.1 rule 4 him another 4 us
Roy, Oldham

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Added: 06 June 2008 17:06
My Honda Stream, 203g/km, doesn't fall into the highest tax band, and yet it is still going to go up in tax by £90 next year, and another £10 in 2010. I believe this is (a) detrimental to the governments popularity with the masses, and (b) counterproductive in terms of "saving the planet"; the best way to reduce emissions is to produce as few new cars as possible, and to avoid scrapping as many old cars as possible. A car's road emissions make up only a small percentage of its life emissions.
Peter Hulley, Norwich

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Added: 06 June 2008 16:52
The ideal of taxing new cars based on emissions is a good idea because then you can make an informed decision. To try and retrofit this new law onto older cars that are mainly owned by much worse off people who don't have a choice is unfair. These cars are often of an older design, less efficient produce more CO2 and worth very little anyway. Surely it is worth letting these cars die of old age then see them get scrapped early and damage the environment before their time.
Kevin Keeble, Sawston

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Added: 06 June 2008 16:44
This government seems particularly inept at understanding the impact of its tax proposals. They started out with a green agenda but failed to set an application date for the implementation of the new vehicle tax bands so that we had a chance to make appropriate choices of vehicle. As a pensioner I find that my vehicle tax will increase from £170 to £260 next year and £270 the year after and I can't afford to change my car. So in fact it turns out to be another way of taxing the poor.
Martin Robson, Stratford upon Avon

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Added: 06 June 2008 16:41
I have an imported 9 years old car but was first registered in this country last year.
Therefore I have to pay on the vehicles emissions - whereas someone else with a car of the same year of manufacture has their tax based on the age of the vehicle. IS THIS FAIR???????

Pamela Hunt, Bexley

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Added: 06 June 2008 16:39
This government seems particularly inept at understanding the impact of its tax proposals. They started out with a green agenda but failed to set an application date for the implementation of the new vehicle tax bands so that we had a chance to make appropriate choices of vehicle. As a pensioner I find that my vehicle tax will increase from £170 to £260 next year and £270 the year after and I can't afford to change my car. So in fact it turns out to be another way of taxing the poor.
Martin Robson, Stratford upon Avon

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Added: 06 June 2008 16:38
How can you have a system which penalises older cars.I own a 2000 Fiat Punto, my neighbour owns a late 2001 Punto.Same car but in the future different tax bands.Absoulutely crazy.
steve holt, Bury Lancashire

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Added: 06 June 2008 16:35
The new tax system is shambolic and counter productive. My 2004) Audi A6 2.5 TDi will cost more to tax and reduce in value. Net result? I'll keep it longer. Taxing a car on ownership and not use is ludicrous. Tax on fuel is at least proportionate to use. If I pay tax whether I use a car or not merely on it's ability to produce CO2 then I'll want my money's worth i.e. use it more. Net result more CO2 and more tax revenue. Perhaps that's the point.
Ian, Woking

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Added: 05 June 2008 20:04
An absolutlely shambolic system. Nothing more than utter theft from our pockets in the name of the environment.

The congestion charge(!) ever increases; fuel prices go up daily and the taxes on it are extortionate; public transport is an overpriced and inadequate joke; and the costs of living and percentages of taxes in the UK are the highest in Europe.

Now people vote Conservative to punish Labour - but only because there's not really anyone else to vote for!

Enough is enough.
Martin, Sittingbourne

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Added: 05 June 2008 16:47
I own a citroen saxo vts, which is a small "hot" hatchback that regularly returns 40mpg and my road tax has gone up by 50% under the new tax rules, due to the emissions. If the same car was 3 months older it would be over £100 less to tax.

Totally unfair! If they spent the money on the roads then I wouldn't be angry but the roads are riddled with pot holes and other poor surfaces.

I for one will not change my car because of the changes, I just won't vote labour... EVER!
Mike, Brighton

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Added: 04 June 2008 23:43
Mmm, I thought that road tax was meant just for that...helping towards maintaining Britan's roads, obviously not! Public transport is so bad we are forced to use our cars.
I have recently treated myself and upgraded my tigra as I bearly do more than 4k per year. With the increase in the tax, constant rises in petrol prices and the increase in insurance each year it will probably have to go.....but my concern now is how will the new tax prices effect the value of my car when they come in.
Clare, Barry

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Added: 04 June 2008 19:47
There I go........ Downsized from a 1998 2.8 BMW ........To a 2003 2.0 Car ......and BANG !!!! ......I'm now gonna have to pay £300 for road tax...... I might as well go get a 1999 Rangerover........ pullute the environment for £185 ?????

Peter Sykes, Aldershot

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Added: 04 June 2008 19:42
It's simply just another way to get money of tax payer pocket- nothing to do with "going green". Why am I being punished for the purchase I made three years ago? There is no such pathetic thing in any other European country.
Henry, Reading

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Added: 04 June 2008 17:36
Regarding tax, would love to hear anybodys comment on this.I bought a peugeot 206 hdi car derived van thinking it would be easier to cart any gear in the back - shopping etc. The car/van is the same output 113g/km and yet I have to pay £185 instead of just £35. The car/van is exactly the same model except the seats have been taken out and the rear windows have metal plates over them. Can anyone explain?
sean, hughes

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Added: 04 June 2008 13:02
Indicative of this government. Devoid of ideas and set on taxing everything! Look at the proposed council tax rebanding - nice view=higher tax, recently redecorated=higher tax etc, etc.

The change to road tax is ill thought out and unfair. As many have already said, older cars tend to polute more so how can this be environmentally based?

As for cost of fuel, how can it be fair to charge VAT on Duty - a tax on a tax? If VAT was charged only on the product,it would be a real help to many.
Simon, Walton on Thames

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Added: 04 June 2008 07:40
I feel sorry for the private motorist, who to the Government is a cash cow to make up for their bad management of the economy, but how about commercial transporters that have to sit back and watch their jobs being lost to FOREIGN lorries.
FOREIGN lorries who run on cheap FOREIGN FUEL, FOREIGN lorry drivers and THEIR vehicles which are NOT subjected to the same rules set out by OUR Government TO US.
Our Government seem to be purposely constructing the demise of yet another British industry.
John Matthews, Bristol

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Added: 04 June 2008 00:47
I drive an Mazda 6 auto because my left knee is wrecked. Any more than 2 days driving a manual and I'm in agony.

I'd buy a Mazda 6 Diesel Auto to replace my current petrol one but they don't make one.

What am I supposed to do? All the decent sized autos don't come in a diesel version.

My dad is physically unable to drive anything but an auto because of a disability and my mum only passed her test on one so she's restricted and isn't going to resit her test at 62.

This is an utter j
Dave, Manchester

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Added: 04 June 2008 00:08
If Mr Brown was interested in keeping emmisions down why doesn`t he remove the 17.5% VAT on fuel sipping cars when purchased from new to make them more affordable or is he just plain gready.
D Hughes, Warrington

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Added: 03 June 2008 22:45
i hate this fxxcking country and government who do they think they are!! we have had 10 years of rip off britain under this shower of shxt its us working people who put em in and its us who work to run this country not them in there 2/3 homes with no problems to face,Its time for them to go they have ruin this country and they know it..
marco, cowes

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Added: 03 June 2008 21:03
We all need to get together, that is, the WHOLE COUNTRY, and figure out a way to stop the Government steam rollering us with this.

I would first suggest Parker's start a new thread proper (like the other threads, easy) and we get each country to organise a day of boycotting Government.

We need people in media to get behind us and Parker's is a start. I am talking BBC national and local, as well as the indies.

We need a voice loud enough to be heard stating "ENOUGH IS ENOUGH!"

Mods!
Andi, Inverness, Scottish Highlands

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Added: 03 June 2008 19:42
I am in full agreement with any motorist who feels ripped off as this can only be classed as legalised theft.
My car tax will go DOWN this year to £30 for the year ( 2001 1.4 tdi audi A2).
I can only think the tax bands go back to 2001 because that is when the old emmisions banding came in.
The whole country has to stand up to brown and his freeloaders .
david, bradford

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Added: 03 June 2008 18:00
i have a 2001 lexus gs 300 and i am going to be hammered by this rip off road tax by this bloody labour taxing scum why is it that my year lexus that had lower c/o emissions outputs than 2000/99/98 models etc has to pay more the older cars pump more emissions out than my car this cannot be right as my car is lower emissions so why do i pay more its not fair and fuel well what more can i say labour go to hell
chris morgan, epsom

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Added: 03 June 2008 15:49
In protest about motoring taxes, everybody could remove the car number plates . there is nothing the scottish goverment could do about it .
Think like the French people, they would not tolerate these massive increases in
taxation. This goverment realize they will not get in again , so they are going to sqeeze the motorist while they can. Where is the motorists UNION?
Mr F Baker, Liverpool

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Added: 03 June 2008 11:16
I have an Astra coupe 2.2i on a 02 plate. I waited and looked for this car for about a year to get what I wanted love this car, had it a year and a half I’ve saved now I have to get rid of it because of this tax, & tax on fuel. Question is how come my tax is same as some of the Ferraris with twice the speed and power why? As I leave in the sticks and my job requires me to pick people up in wheel chairs a range rover would be better but umm price! Do the government know there is a country side?
michael malin, woolacombe

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Added: 01 June 2008 17:54
what is goin on with this tax system, it was invented to maintain the roads, now it goes no where near them! and whats all the tripe about being green anyhow?
a 3 litre car nowadays has to be far more efficient than one of 30 years ago, so why tax the hell out of it?
i am going to buy an old classic and make sure it's pre-1974 so its 'rip-off' exempt! maybe we should all go out n buy old cars instead?
andy, huddersfield

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Added: 31 May 2008 17:57
Did all the people who are complaining about about the road tax vote for Labour.
You've all got a vote use it wisely.
APC
Adrian Pexman, Grimsby

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Added: 30 May 2008 23:28
Since when is it actually legal to create retrospective laws?
It's no different to creating a law today, making it apply from, say, January 2005, then prosecuting people for committing the offence between then and now, even though it wasn't an offence at the time.
We are now being punished for driving 4x4's when it is becoming more and more necessary to own one, simply to negotiate the cart tracks that now pass for our road system.
Nigel Hempsall, Pontefract

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Added: 30 May 2008 15:17
Is it not time all of us said enough is enough, we employ Labour and if they were employee's and we were share holders, we would have kicked them all out for fiddling expenses, making sh.. decisions and wasting good tax money following the Americans and then robbing the ave working person to pay for their mis management. PLEASE someone organize the country to march on Westminster& bring this government down. Even Dick Turpin had the decency to wear a mask when he robbed you. Rgds P an average jo
Paul Little, Cripps Corner

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Added: 29 May 2008 14:41
Gordon brown is a FAT SLUG!

That is all I have to say on the matter.
dave, london

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Added: 29 May 2008 14:01
My 2003 Audi A4 Avant goes from £210 this year to a whopping £455 in 2010. That's a more than doubling in tax. For what? I drive 6000miles a year. Hardly seems fair to me.
DB, London

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Added: 29 May 2008 13:11
Been looking in2 this issue for nearly a month, and 2 things are clear. Govm has kept VED tax issue under raps, very little mainstream media cover, and contempt Govm have for the GB public is staggering. If we can't afford to put fuel in our cars, to get to work or deliver goods, there won't be a sodding ecomony! End of. Nobody will give a f*** about green issues then.
Only when MPs realise they'll have to pay £600 extra in 2010 to tax the new Jag & mistress' Audi, then we'll see some action.
Ian, Dewsbury

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Added: 29 May 2008 11:07
I've a Golf TDi 170 which is a pretty powerful car. Tax goes from £145 to £150 - great!

However I'm told the clutch gets heavier the older you get. I'm thinking don't most old people drive autos? The auto's in our family:

Lacetti 1.6, £210 to £260
Honda 1.4, £170 to £210
Rover 45 1.8, £210 to £300
Rover 25 1.6, £170 to £260

I pay £5 extra. My retired uncle pays £90 xtra for his tiny Rover 25. And he thought he was helping out by buying a small car.

Shame on you Darling!
Ronnie, Scotland

Have Your Say!
Added: 29 May 2008 09:53
I have a 2 litre mondeo which is likely to cost me far more in road tax from next year. No consideration is given by the government to the fact that I drive less than 30 miles a week! Why am I expected to pay the same as a motorist with the same vehicle who is driving 300 miles a week ??? If polution is the key factor to the cost increases, then surely I should pay less. Its a bloody joke.
Elliott Cohen, Ormskirk

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Added: 28 May 2008 12:45
It would seem a lot of diesals have a lower CO2 emissions than most petrol cars. This is great, the answer everyone has been waiting for!! Except no one can afford diesal at 130p a litre and rising!! Either way you get screwed, suppose thats what you get for having a prime minister no-one voted for.
David, Hythe, Kent

Have Your Say!
Added: 28 May 2008 00:47
Just one other comment can anyone tell me especially Brown and his cronies how sending battleships half way round the world and then using fuel efficient tanks and warplanes to drop bombs is good for the environment??
Or is this the green issue we motorists are now paying for ?? (since our gov't has finally realised that the yanks are not going to let us have any of the oil they are taking from Iraq)
Rico, nuneaton

Have Your Say!
Added: 28 May 2008 00:40
Having read all the previous comments I agree with everything said so far.

I admit we have two cars a pre 2001 toyota corrolla which remains at £120, which we use for 3 or less people journeys.

When our mondeos engine blew we needed to buy a car which could take 3 car seats
and occassionally also ferry the old folks around as well. Hence using one car for trips insted of two. Mileage of larger car less than 5000 a year yet penality now of £450. How is that fair?
Rico, nuneaton

Have Your Say!
Added: 28 May 2008 00:08
My 806 MPV does 4000 miles a year with 5 or 6+ people loaded half of that in France on holiday. Thats efficient!, hows VED @ £430+ supposed to help? I will simply tax & insure for when I use it & cash in the complete months VED in between & sit it on the drive. Reckon I can save ~£300 doing that & still use it for holidays & Christmas. Vote for nobody !
phil, herts

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Added: 25 May 2008 22:23
Interesting review but I could not find any mention of greener fuels such as lpg. I would be interested to know how having a lpg conversion on a newish car affects the cost of road tax. With the cost of lpg being almost half the cost of unleaded and producing less carbon I would have thought this option should cost less than a diesel alternative.
Neil, Worthing

Have Your Say!
Added: 24 May 2008 17:23
The whole thing is a joke.Most people have a car because they need one.We are easy targets.Can you imagine if everyone stopped driving (impossible I know).The income lost by the Government would be horrendous.This is doing nothing for the environment,it is just easy money.I am scared to work out how much it actually costs me to run my 'average' car annually - road tax,tax on fuel,insurance and depreciation.Scary !!Labour have done nothing positive.

No wonder so many people are emigrating!
john macneill, Gourock

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Added: 24 May 2008 10:07
Making this road tax change retrospective is a joke! If the Government wants to influence consumers purchasing decisions, then these must be for future purchases. I've owned my family estate for three years and my road tax will go up by £200 next year. All this has done is to devalue my car as who will want to buy it now at £450 annual road tax.
Keith Nicolson, London

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Added: 19 May 2008 19:52
I think the new proposed tax bands are a complete rip off. I own a car that pumps out a 226g/kg and my tax is set to rise from 210 - 435 and year by 2010! I only cover about 5000 miles a year but need a large vehicle for the unrivaled boot space. How is it fair that somebody who drives a car with just under half the emssions of mine pays nothing - and could easily double my mileage, polluting exactly the same and wearing more roads out! Nonsense!
Daniel Baribeaiult, Cwmbran

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Added: 19 May 2008 08:50
I can see what's the point of view here i.e. taxing heavily the 'chelsea tractors' owned by those who just like their fashionability, however its also penalises the likes of me who's self-employed but has a 4x4 (56 plate for reliability, thought lower emmissions) so that I can get off a road to work alongside it and not be a hazard to others! Despite having safety-tape/bollards/signs many 'drivers' don't apply the consideration to an emergency vehicle that's also eqipped with a siren!
Ross, Caistor area Lincolnshire

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Added: 18 May 2008 18:12
the cost of road tax is ridiculous its yet another way for the govenment to bleed the working classes dry
Jayne, Walsall

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Added: 16 May 2008 12:53
Sign the official petition here:

http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/UNFAIR-VED/
Andy Brown, Stoke on Trent

Have Your Say!
Added: 15 May 2008 12:19
Does anybody know why it would appear that if you choose an automatic, the tax seems to be double on nearly every example.If a 1.7 DTI with a manual box costs you £150 to tax, how can a 1.7 DTI auto be any more polluting ? I allways thought modern autos were designed to drive more efficiently than clutch and shift drivers.
As most other people who have left comments (apart from the smug brigade)have said, it's about time this country's drivers stood up to be counted.
mark miller, Ebbw Vale

Have Your Say!
Added: 15 May 2008 11:57
I have just read through the comments, some quite funny and made me chuckle. The Government will never abolish VED because why should they, ok put the tax on petrol instead, but they do that already, dont they? so they get the tax both ways now. I have a family of 7(inc me) so no f4rt 4rse tax exemt car will ferry us about, so I invested in a VW Sharan diesel on an 02 plate, due to these tax increases this had to go and has been replace by an Mercedes-Benz ML55 reg 27/02/01 354co2 £185-£200 :-)
Will, Ascot

Have Your Say!
Added: 14 May 2008 17:10
Stephen Houseley has completely missed the point. Most of the people affected by this tax HAVE chosen sensible cars. If you can afford a £75k car, would you really care about being charged £900 to keep it on the road and whinge on the website? I'm happy for you that you only pay £35 a year in road tax, and I hope you will be feel suitably smug the next time you're being tailgated by a 3ton Range Rover with dodgy brakes.
Back in the real world, this is just another way of fleecing GB public.
Ian, Dewsbury

Have Your Say!
Added: 14 May 2008 14:19
Lots of implications to this new tax structure, selling and buying a lower emission car is not an answer is it? the co2 generated from manufacturing a new car will never be recouped by lower emssions, Darling, another shining example of someone whose grasp on competence is non existent. Oh well, they may do another U-turn. I was going to trade down to a bluemotion, this budget has wiped £1000 of my cars value, making the deal not cost effective, an early 01 reg bmw m3 is £200 PA under new rules.
Andy, Darlington

Have Your Say!
Added: 11 May 2008 21:30
I applaud peoples comments on this governments tax rip off, but the question i ask is who kept putting this lot in time & time again? We all saw the grinning chesire cat Blair saying things can only get better in 1997, now look who has just brought a 4 million pound mansion. As for the rest of us we get ripped off to fund labours life style. just remember at the next election who to vote for, otherwise we will all be using a horse & cart to ferry us around soon.
roy, worcester

Have Your Say!
Added: 11 May 2008 14:28
In reply to "Choose a sensible car and stop whinging" and "those worse off should buy more efficient cars"...

What if I do not want a sensible or efficient car? To some people cars are a method of transport to get from A to B, but to others they are your pride and joy, who like how they look, work, drive and sound.What a ploy to get us onto public transport which many find impersonal, insufficient for needs etc. I have the freedom to drive what I want, its not for others to dictate!

Sean, Liverpool

Have Your Say!
Added: 10 May 2008 17:01
Why wasn't this metioned in the budget it is completely unfair to tax cars that are already on the road when this was advertised as a showroom tax I drive a 2.2 frontera 03 reg as I tow a caravan and only cover about 2500 miles year as everyone keeps saying PUT IT ON THE FUEL as they do in france . It is unfair that thousands of eec immigrants can drive their own cars without paying a penny and i pay £450
dave , felixstowe

Have Your Say!
Added: 10 May 2008 02:23
ha ha, Gordon got a sharp kick to the backside from the local elections in response to his various tax scams. He has been particularly stupid to arrange the full weight of the planned car tax rises to kick in several months before the run up to the general election, just in time to make most car owners on the road roughly £200 worse off than this year, this is roughly a 1% rise in income tax effectively (on average). So New Labour is really so different from old labour? bye bye Labour.
chris, Bristol

Have Your Say!
Added: 09 May 2008 21:26
TO STEPHEN IVE GOT 2 BAND G VEHICLES ONE A TT AND ONE A DISCO 3 LOVE THEM BOTH AND NO GOVERNMENT WILL STOP ME DRIVING THESE FANTASTIC VEHICLES NO MATTER AT THE COST .SO IF YOU CHOOSE A BABY CAR THEN THATS YOURE LOSS, YOU PLEASE YOURSELF AND KEEP THE ENVIROMENTALISTS AND THE GOVRNMENT HAPPY WHY DONT YOU ,ONE DAY YOU MIGHT OWN A PROPER CAR SO JUST GET ALIFE PAL ,DO NOT FORGET IT ISNT THE 4X4S THAT RUIN THE THE THE ROADS ITS THE COUNCIL FAT CATS WHO ENJOY SPENDING OUR MONEY !!!!!!!
chris , stoke on trent

Have Your Say!
Added: 09 May 2008 21:12
Just a note in reply to Stephen Housley's comment.My car is a Citroen Berlingo..just an average size car capable of towing a small caravan which is used for approx.2weeks a year for hols. I don't fly abroad and holiday in Britain but will have to pay an extra £100 a year in car tax.Perhaps if some warning had been given before I bought the car I could have not bought the car or the caravan and just stayed at home forever!!By the way do you fly and pollute the earth ?
linda brown , liverpool

Have Your Say!
Added: 08 May 2008 19:40
I dont see emissions i dont smell emissions i dont see emissions when the vehicle has an m.o.t and passes its emissions test i can take the car on the road, whether the vehicle does 3k or 30k a year you would think this would have a beaing on the situation. This is legalised extortion and needs to go down the same road as the Poll Tax
r. england, sittingbourne

Have Your Say!
Added: 08 May 2008 19:24
Why the 2001 threshold?
If the intention is to make us buy a greener car, this is a dismal way to do it. MY 51 reg Mondeo has just dropped so much in value on the announcement of this tax, the only thing I can afford to replace it with is pre 2001. And you can bet it won't be better emmissions!
Liars, Thieves, and Cheats..... a story of modern day Government.
John Worrall, Bridlington

Have Your Say!
Added: 08 May 2008 11:09
I am seeing a 43% rise in my road tax bill for next year! This is just another ill thought out 'green' tax by a Labour government which is out of control. We already pay around 75% tax on the price of a litre of forecourt petrol - the highest in Europe. All this goes to pay off the huge debt generated by this government; it certainly isnt't going in to repairing the increasing number of potholes on our roads. Terrible state of affairs.
Dom Norton, London

Have Your Say!
Added: 07 May 2008 22:39
When I bought my car new on a 55 reg. The road tax was £75. A year later it went down to £40. Another year later, it went down again to £35.

Choose a sensible car and stop whinging.

I'm in full agreement with taxing big cars off the road.

4x4's should be £2000 a year road tax in my opinion. They are a danger to other road users and damage our roads more.

It is people that think they are being clever by buying big cars because they have been asked not to who are to blame for rises
Stephen Housley, Horncastle

Have Your Say!
Added: 06 May 2008 21:46
The older the car the higher they polute the air so how can they say vehicles from March 1st 2001 are affected by the tax bands and the older ones are barly affected,Two cars with identical engines i.e Lexus IS200 one registerd 28thFeb 2001 NOT affected, one Registerd 1st March 2001 = £200 plus extra Revenue a year than the one Registerd one DAY earlier what is this GOVERMENT trying to do to the already well over taxed motorists who are already Ripped off at the pumps without further excuses !!
mr williams, llanelli

Have Your Say!
Added: 06 May 2008 14:29
This is so confusing I have a Daewoo Lanos 1.4se registered 1 March 2001 & my road tax is £210 now yet this site shows it at a lower rate (co2 = 214g/Km)
Peter, Newcastle upon Tyne

Have Your Say!
Added: 06 May 2008 12:15
I am appauled by this tax increase, i drive a vw sharan 1.9tdi i do about 50 miles a week (school runs)with this new tax i get screwed from £170 a year rising to £270 a year, my husband drives an older car with higher emissions and his stays the same with no increase. I bought a diesel with better emissions thinking i was doing a good thing. I think we should all stick together and say no to higher tax add it to fuel that way the people who use their car all the time pay for it.
lucy, leicester

Have Your Say!
Added: 05 May 2008 19:53
For those of us that can't afford a greener car, we are going to be paying the ridiculous tax on our older cars. This country is becoming divided into two cultures; the poorer and the richer. We are already struggling with the ever increasing energy rises, once again the poor are forking out the most. We all know about the bastards running this country, but we do NOTHING. We are too scared to bother, too stuck in our ways to make a move and show the government that we are sick of been PUNISHED!!
Andrew Smith, Derby

Have Your Say!
Added: 04 May 2008 21:52
It's absolutely ridiculous. Tax tax tax tax tax and more tax. It really makes my blood boil. Those in power in this country are all about making money for the honest hardworking citizens. They have screwed up big time on pretty much everything. These new tax rules are a sham, it favours people to drive older more polluting cars. As for petrol, thats just as bad. However, scrapping it and adding it to the cost of fuel is not the answer. Tax is wasted in this country and this country is a mess.
Toby Hopkins, Ringwood

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Added: 04 May 2008 14:11
I've just watched Gordon Brown on Sky TV.He said "majority of people either the same or better off under new car tax ,those worse off should buy more efficient cars."How do I sell my 3year old average family car that's going from band E to band J so that I can get a more efficient car?Who will buy a car at £270 a year to tax.I've also been hit by the 10p tax abolition and now pay double tax.I could have sworn when he did so badly in the local elections he said he was going to "listen and learn"!
linda b, liverpool

Have Your Say!
Added: 04 May 2008 12:06
If you believe you really need something, you'll pay whatever it takes for it.

Besides, fuss about road duty is pointless. In the scheme of things, £100 extra is immaterial. It pays for two tanks of fuel. The drop in value over a year is a lot more. Insurance premiums are also going up
David Steele, York

Have Your Say!
Added: 03 May 2008 21:52
This is RIDICULOUS!!! I am about to pick up my new car(on behalf of my disabled son)!! WE NEED A CAR TO GET AROUND MR BROWN!!! The car I am getting is a 2L Dodge Caliber CVT(auto). This is the car of my choice as I have always driven Chryslers/Jeeps/Dodges(in Canada)..SO HOW DOES A 2L CAR NEED TO BE ROAD TAXED UPWARDS OF £400 IN 2010. WHEN MY OLD GRAND VOYAGER WHICH WAS A 3.3L V6 AUTO ONLY COST £210 IN 2010. IT DOES NOT MAKE SENSE!!!! THIS MR BROWN IS DAYLIGHT ROBBERY....
nic, london

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Added: 03 May 2008 11:27
I'm going to sell my Ford Ka 1.6 (£270 / yr tax even though it weighs less than a ton!) and buy a 20yr old 4 litre jag. Apparently Gordon reckons it's better for the environment and I won't have to pay so much...
Gareth, Scunthorpe

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Added: 02 May 2008 23:05
The road tax system is based on what they think they can get away with - Free for a Morris Minor, but more for more desirable (faster, less polluting and safer) everday car.
At one pont road tax was based on notional Horse Power - not the true power of an engine, but a value based on engine bore, so leading to very long stroke engines in the UK for decades. I think the CO2 emmisions bands are having a similar skewing effect.
Mark Hawkins, banbury

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Added: 02 May 2008 17:50
Be careful on tax banding. Firstly a car could have a number plate that makes it look as if it was registered before 1 March 2001. Secondly a car may have a factory option that puts it into a higher band. An example of this is the current Mercedes S320 cdi longwheelbase. With standard wheels its CO2 emission is 223g, but with any other factory wheels it is 228g. Parkers site just records it as 223g. For used cars check DVLA records at http://www.vehiclelicence.gov.uk/EvlPortalApp/index.jsp
Winston, Hunstanton

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Added: 02 May 2008 16:56
THIS COUNTRY IS MAKING ME ILL i am sick and tired of being taxed everything has gone through the roof i think our goverment is now feeling the bite of imigration and we are now paying out billions for the cause,why do we pay green taxes when the money generated just pays goverment debt it is stupid i am voting for change thats for shure or i am going to flee my own country LIKE THOUSANDS OF OTHER BRITISH PEOPLE ARE LABOUR HAS RUINED ENGLAND............MY GRANDAD WOULD TURN IN HIS GRAVE........
lee, manchester

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Added: 02 May 2008 01:27
I have just bought a (06) Renault Clio Expression 1.5 dCi 68(bhp) 5dr with (a/c), i looked everywhere and it says its co2 is 120, but im paying 120 pound for the year, not sure how that is. I cant seem to find that model with a/c 5dr. Renault said there computers show that it falls into the 35 a year tax but its 120 for the year,
Anyone else paying that amount ?
Ian R, Sunderland

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Added: 02 May 2008 00:32
I really can't help feeling that this green/environmental issue is just one big con so the government can tax us into oblivion. I was in the good old USA last year where compared to here, petrol is dirt cheap and every other person seems to drive a 4x4 of at least 2.5 litres. Remember the rain don't fall on one man's house.
Remi, London

Have Your Say!
Added: 01 May 2008 13:56
I drive a 2.0 diesel and drive 20,000 miles a year but will pay less road tax than my wife who drives an 800cc petrol car 5,000 mile per year. The difference for 12 months tax in 2010 will be £55.00. What an absolutely crazy state of affairs. This Government wants kicking out ASAP.
Nick, Worcester

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Added: 01 May 2008 04:13
We pay tax on driving lessons
We pay tax on the driving test
We pay tax on the telephone to book the lessons & test
We pay tax when buying a car
We pay road tax thats not spent on the roads
We pay the fuel tax & Value Added Tax, which is a double fuel tax
We pay tax on engine oil
We pay tax on water for the car
We pay tax on parts
We pay tax on repairs
We pay tax on motor insurance
We pay tax on the MOT
We've payed more than enough taxes, a further tax isn't green, its just greedy!
Alan, Durham

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Added: 30 April 2008 20:50
Making a random pick on dates makes no sense with regards to the environment. My car was manufactured from 96-06, I have a car registered in June 01 moving me into the £300 bracket.. where are the same car registered 2 months earlier gets £185 ?! it's the same car with the same emissions. This is just another excuse to take more money from us... if the government truly wanted to persuade manufatures from making high poluting vehicles then they would tax them... get this goverment out...
Jon, Reading

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Added: 30 April 2008 20:26
Why this government sees the motoring British Public as a bottomless purse. How do they think that people will afford these rises? Go green, buy a diesel, only to be stung at the pumps with prices hikes for a fuel that is in greater demand and shorter supply than petrol. So, you stick with a cheaper fuel, then get clobbered with tax based on CO2 production? Tell me this, will they tax farmers for the CO2 that cows produce f4rting in the fields? There's your global warming right there...
Ian, Dewsbury

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Added: 30 April 2008 19:42
their is only one thing to do that is TO STAND TOGETHER AND NOT ALLOW THIS CHARGE TO COME IN TO PLACE, GET THE LABOUR GOVERMENT OUT JUST LIKE THE TIME THATCHER WAS OUSTED OVER THE POLL TAX .THIS CANT GO ON LETS STOP IT TODAY !!! ITS JUST DICTATORSHIP AT A DIFFERENT LEVEL.WE MUST STAND UP AGAINST THE GOVERMENT RIGHT NOW,THEY ARE SLOWLY RUNNING OUR LIFES FOR US AND THEY DO NOT HAVE ACLUE WHAT THE ORDINARY WORKING PERSON LIVES.
chris , stoke on trent

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Added: 30 April 2008 19:32
What a load of Bo**ocks another squeeze on the british people. At least when this recession kicks in properly and we are all out of work then there's only one organisation to blame this poxy robbing government and the hidious leader that wasn't even elected, Mr Blair you should be ashamed of yourself!! Mr Brown why don't you just give up? you were never prepared for such an important job.
Iain, Runcorn

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Added: 30 April 2008 18:25
So we are all going green, why then is my Vauxhall dual fuel (factory model) £125 per year when it runs on LPG and has no emmisions? (that's why it's exempted from congestion charges)

Nothing to do with green issues, just another tax on everyday folks from a Gov that cares!
Paul, Middlesbrough

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Added: 30 April 2008 14:30
How is including cars up to 7 years old helping the environment? I could understand it if you where choosing a new car with lower emmisions but if you have a car already what are you supposed to do? Like the chancellor 'forgot' to mention the new ved bands in the budget. Just another way to get extra tax out of the bloke in the street. Take my advice and vote tory in tomorrows local elections and kick em where it hurts
James, Mansfield

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Added: 30 April 2008 12:31
Just replaced my 1.4 16v V reg Astra (engine blew) with a '54 plate 1.4 16v Astra (same model) and seen my car tax will rise from £120 for the old one to £180 for the newer one - they are effectively the same car!!!!!!
An absolute joke.
mark, woking

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Added: 29 April 2008 20:04
MR BROWN YOU HAVE HAD ME FOR THE LAST TIME I WAS IN AMERICA LAST YEAR 6 LANES OF LARGE CARS AND 4X4s ALL PETROL HERE WE ARE SQUEEZED OUT OF OUR HARD EARNED CASH TO THE LAST DROP UNDER THE PRESENCE OF SAVING THE EARTH ? NO, MR BROWNS :POCKET: THERE IS 20 MILLION VOTERS/CAR OWNERS OUT THERE GIVE US A REASON TO VOTE FOR YOU I WILL MAKE NO MISTAKE. PS HE HAS MADE THE NEW TAX LAWS SO COMPLICATED OVER THE NEXT TWO YEARS SO HE CAN HIDE THE REAL COST PEOPLE WILL BE SHOCKED WHEN THEY FIND OUT. BOB BRIDGE
bob bridge, stourbridge

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Added: 28 April 2008 00:37
Am now starting to have 2nd thoughts about selling my 1994 214SLi.

Have just bought a Rover 25 1.4 to replace it.

But, whereas the 214SLi tax will appear to remain at £120 over the next 2 years,
the Rover 25 will increase from £145 to £175 to £180....where's the sense in that?????

I bought a newer car so it would be more economical, and that it would perhaps be better for the environment....but am now being taxed out of my league for getting a new car!!!
This Government has to go!
Richard Clark, Kent

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Added: 27 April 2008 19:41
Well, I have a Honda Accord Coupe 3.0v6 v-tec and under the new system I will be paying less than the owner of a 2002 1.6 Focus !! Its x reg but registered Jan 2001 so surely mine will go up in value and the person with a 2002 version of my car will will be paying a small fortune in road tax?....Making there car very hard too sell!...My advise is to buy before March 1st 2001 if you want a tow vehicle or large engined vehicle...OR SUFFER UP TO £450 IN ROAD TAX IN 18 MONTHS TIME.
kev kerry, loughborough

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Added: 23 April 2008 19:15
It wouldn't be too bad if all the money was spent on giving us perfect roads, yet all I ever seem to do it avoid potholes, cracks, bad repairs and high/low manhole covers...
Christian, Newcastle

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Added: 23 April 2008 17:58
The Parker's website states "If your car was registered before 01/03/2001 then car tax is based only on the engine size, with one rate for engine sizes up to and including 1549cc and one for engines over 1549cc."
I think I'll be sticking with my 10 year old 7 seater Sharan. As Steve put it "having 4 children...no small car is suitable unless i want to break the law...". I have been unable to find a "green" 7-seater that can comfortably seat 2 adults, 2 teens and 2 adolescents with luggage!
Tee, London

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Added: 22 April 2008 16:48
OK I have the Chelsea Tractor but I have 3 children and it never repeat never goes out without 3 people in it.MPG 27
I also have a Mk1 Golf, this is my 1 person car MPG 31

The C/Tractor will cost £430.00 per year
The golf Around £210.00 per year.

Mile per ocupant the C/Tractor is the cleaner car yet I have to pay more road TAX

Put the TAX on the Petrol and have Ins disks fitted instead.
carl, harleston

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Added: 22 April 2008 00:05
Car tax should be scrapped and the cost added to the price of petrol. The more you drive the more you pay. Owning a car does not pollute....driving it does.
sedgwick, London

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Added: 21 April 2008 22:14
It will be good if i could have a small car, but having 4 young children, no small car is suitable unless i want to break the law and have the children climbing around the back of the car.

Time to go green, Not a chance, if i am going to have to pay over £400 per year to drive around i will just buy the worst polluting car possible.
Steve, Woking

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Added: 21 April 2008 15:53
As Linda Field says it is about time the car tax was abolished and replaced with a tax on petrol.
I am retired and most of the time my car goes nowhere I have the car because I live in the country and the bus service is non-existent.
I think it is a ridiculousness situation in this country but isn't everything regards our tax system.
Norman Reed
Norman Reed, Bristol

Have Your Say!
Added: 18 April 2008 14:52
I think the changes in road tax are a good thing. Now we've got the chance to buy a car and pay NO tax or just £35 a year if we want. Saves money and the environment - what more could you ask for?
Fairfax, Newquay

Have Your Say!
Added: 17 April 2008 14:02
Looks like my family of 5 will have to squeeze into a VW Polo size car as bigger 'cleaner' cars are too new to be afforded. RIDICULOUS. And what about Chinese goods traveling half the globe to get here!!! Is it not cleaner to make them here in UK???? WHAT A TERRIBLE MESS!!!! and unfairness!!!!
Daniel, Gloucestershire

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Added: 15 April 2008 20:29
Please, please please, will someone campaign AGAINST this most unfair of ALL taxes.THE NEW ROAD TAX HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES, a car only pollutes while being driven, if the tax was moved wholly to fuel prices it would be the fairest way of all. Recently compared on our MOT gas analyser. a 56 reg 4.00 X5 and a 52 reg Fiesta zetec, guess which came out best, the X5 of course, I rest my case............
Linda Field, Market Harborough

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