The 2012 Budget did little to help out UK car owners with the escalating costs of running a car.
The main news was that fuel duty rises are set to remain which will see the price of petrol and diesel continues to rise.
Other cost increase came with the rise of road tax prices. For the full information on how you’ll be paying from April 1, 2012, go here.
Company car tax bands were also confirmed for 2014/15 as well as 2015/16 and 2016/17. At the same time, the 3% levy currently applied to diesel cars is set to be removed in 2016. Click here for the full details.
Read on to see the 2012 Budget, as it happened.
13:40
The more detailed documents from the Budget show that in order to deal with rising road tax prices, the Government could develop a direct debit system in order to help spread the costs
13:30
The 2012 Budget comes to an end and it’s far from good news for car owners.
The price of fuel is set to increase again, while motorists will also have pay more for road tax. It looks like the cost of owning a car is set to increase again.
Will this change your attitude to using your car? Go to our Facebook page or Twitter and let us know what you think to the latest Budget.
13:25
The company car BIK bands will shift, something we already knew about, in an attempt to persuade fleet drivers in to lower emitting vehicles.
13:19
So, as expected, the 3p per litre fuel price rise will be implemented from August 1. It looks as though there will be little respite for motorists and their rising running costs.
13:15
The Fair Fuel Stabiliser will be introduced, and above inflation increase will only be applied if oil drops to $75 per barrel. There will be no further changes to fuel duty to those already set out.
Vehicle Excise Duty (VED), or road tax, will rise by inflation only.
VED for road hauliers will be frozen.
13:13
The Chancellor says: “High fuel prices have out pressure on families and business.”
13:11
Now on to duty, will there be anything on fuel duty?
12:53
Roads, railways, clean energy & broadband networks will be prioritised by National Infrastructure Plan.
Could this include the proposed plans to sell off some of the UK’s roads to private companies? Will this help cut congestion, or be an expensive failure like the M6 Toll Road?
12:51
There’s been no word yet on any kind of cut, or attempts to lower, fuel prices. We’re due to get a 3p per litre increase from August too.
The Chancellor hinted previously that there would be no further help to cut down the ever-increasing prices in this Budget.
12:39
The Chancellor, and the Prime Minister before him in Prime Minister’s questions, was keen to point out the positive growth in UK industry from the likes of Jaguar/Land Rover as well as Nissan building the new Invitation in the UK.
12:36
The Chancellor goes on to speak about the high oil prices, and how these have risen due to high demand and the on-going issues in the Middle East.
12:32
Osborne begins by claiming that this Budget is: “A Budget that rewards work.”
12:31
The 2012 Budget begins.
12:19
To see the impact that these rising fuel prices have had on your annual petrol or diesel costs, you can use Parkers Cost of Motoring tool to check.
The tool also allows you to check monthly or per mile costs on any new or used cars. You can also compare new against used cars, new against new or used against used cars.
12:08
Despite the attempts to delay the fuel price rises from the Chancellor, the average price of petrol has gone up from 132.9p per litre to 138.5p per litre since March 2011.
During the same time period, the cost of diesel has risen from 139p per litre to 145.5p per litre.
11:51
The big issue for most car owners is the high price of fuel.
With the increases that were due in late 2011 delayed until this year, it’s unlikely that Osborne will offer any further reprieve to motorists though.
11:01
While there are few clues as to whether there will be any help for motorists, something we do know is that company car drivers could be hit with higher bills.
From April 1, 2012, the Benefit-in-Kind brackets will shift. This means that the magic 120g/km figure no longer applies. To see the full details on the changes, go here.
09:35
The Chancellor, George Osborne, is set to deliver the 2012 Budget today but what help, if any, will be given to UK motorists.
Since his last speech, despite delaying the proposed fuel price rises, diesel and petrol costs have both hit record highs.
As well as this, car owners have been forced to pay more in road tax and insurance costs. Go here for a reminder of what was in last year’s speech.
We’ll be bringing you live updates of what’s in the Chancellor’s speech as it happens.
