Evil New Road Tax Impacts Many Drivers

Apparently, according to an investigation, about 9.4 million people will be punished by the government in the form of punitive new taxes based on the emissions of cars – yet curiously many are still claiming this is a target of gas guzzlers.  Realistically, it has nothing to do with the amount of fuel that your car needs, but the amount of cO2 that your car produces.  It could be doing 20mpg but have less than 100g/km coming out of the pipe at the back and you’d be okay.

Apparently, the increases will negatively impact 43% of UK motorists – meaning that slightly less than half of us will be paying more for our little tax discs every year (or every six months).  Naturally, this is ‘offset’ to a fashion by the 18% who will be paying less.  Do the math and tell me what this means.  No wait, I’ll save you the bother.  What this means is, yet again, the government is using us drivers as a wonderful tax mule.  In that they keep sticking more tax on our backs, curious perhaps to see when either it breaks or we simply give up.

Environmental groups (as per usual, the bloody greenie lot were out in force) told the government to stick to targets.  I’m guessing they all power their cars with cat urine or something then and achieve a wonderful 60mpg for their efforts?  No wait, they probably drive in big Jags, or at least their company directors will.

How much exactly will the government get that goes to their coffers (and presumably goes toward funding MP’s John Lewis lists?), well that’s quite a princely sum of £1 billion – by 2011 anyway, unless a) there are further hikes or b) the price of petrol keeps going up in which case the government gets even more money.

Unfortunately, in what I’d guess is a completely transparent issue to get this extra cash, the top five cars in the UK have fallen into the ‘they will pay more’ bracket.  This includes the 2.2 diesel Land Rover, 1.6 Toyota Auris, 2.2 diesel Honda CR-V, 1.8 litre Vauxhall Vectra and the 1.6 litre unleaded Vauxhall Zafira.  So if your car is on the list, I’m sorry.  For the record, I have paid more this year in road tax – something I completely begrudge, especially in light of petrol prices.

If the average person drives one of the above five cars, then ministers are hopelessly out of touch with the average person.  If I’m ‘Joe Bloggs’ and I’m struggling due to the cost of living rising and the fact that we are almost hitting a recession, I really don’t think that I deserve to have a government slapping more taxes in my face.  In fact, I know I don’t.  As usual, this is a case of Labour ignoring the people they should be trying to court – the average working class person.  Maybe it’s time for a change of government – though I’m not sure who to vote in, in order to avoid stealth taxes.