Hold On Fella's , Don't All Rush To Sell Your Motors .

[PCIronmike]

HI all , thought you all may like to breeze trhrough this little gem I read online , check it out . Regards.

Government hints at climbdown over controversial tax rise for big cars .

John Hutton has given the first broad hint of a climbdown over vehicle excise duty amid signs of a growing revolt in the Labour ranks over the issue.

The Business Secretary suggested that the Treasury was receptive to people’s concerns about the issue, suggesting they may be preparing for a climbdown in the coming months.

Mr Hutton told BBC Radio 4 that the Chancellor was “listening to what people are saying about vehicle excise duty”, adding “It's right that we listen to people's concerns.”

He said: "We are trying to get this balance right between encouraging choices to go green but not hammering people."

This came after a ministerial aide joined the growing revolt over the rise in car tax.

Rob Marris, the Labour MP for Wolverhampton South West and a parliamentary private secretary in the Northern Ireland Office, urged Mr Darling to re-think plans announced in the Budget for big increases in vehicle excise duty on “gas guzzling” cars.

Both Labour and Conservatives are increasingly coming under pressure to review and scrap plans for enviornmental taxes as the credit crunch constricts household budgets, making them much more politically unpalletable.

Mr Marris warned that there was “a significant risk” that car tax could cause anger on the scale of the 10p tax rate abolition.

Although vehicles bought before 2001 are exempt, MPs are concerned that the some owners who bought bigger cars in the past not realising the changes were on the way, could be faced with increases of up to £200.

More than 30 Labour backbenchers have now signed a Commons motion urging ministers to re-think the proposals before the new rates come into force.

Mr Marris, a said it was “undesirable” that hikes in VED should be applied to cars as much as seven years old.

He said he was hoping to meet Mr Darling when Parliament returns next week and would urge him to rethink the changes, which were announced in the Budget but will not come into effect until next year’s Finance Bill.

Mr Marris told BBC Radio 4’s <CF71>PM:</CF> “There are 30 million motorists in the UK. Not all of them will be adversely affected - some of them will gain - but there will be millions of people adversely affected.

“It is not about changing future behaviour, because of course these cars already exist in the fleet.

“Therefore it is retrospective taxation. I am in favour of prospective green taxes to change people’s decisions when they buy a car, but to tax them heavily on a car when it was bought seven years ago doesn’t seem a good way to go and it will discredit green taxes.”

Earlier Ronnie Campbell, the Labour MP who tabled the motion, warned that the impact of the increases could be similar to scrapping the 10p tax rate, which LED to Mr Darling’s £2.7 billion climbdown in an emergency “mini budget” earlier this month.

“It is unfair \[on\] people who bought their cars a few years ago not knowing that the Government were going to put this road tax on,” he told BBC Radio 4’s <CF71>The World at One.</CF>

“When people get their road tax letter through the door next year and find they have got an extra £200 to pay - well, I don’t have to say any more, do I? The motorist is taking the brunt again.”

Mr Campbell, who is due to meet Mr Darling when MPs return to Westminster after this week’s Whitsun break, also called on Mr Darling to drop the planned 2p increase in fuel duty due in October.

He warned that the changes in the duty could hit drivers of ordinary family cars.

The demands represent another headache for Mr Darling and Mr Brown at a time when the Prime Minister is already politically weakened by the debacle over the 10p tax rate and Labour’s disastrous performance in the council elections and the Crewe and Nantwich by-election.

At the same time, the £2.7 billion emergency compensation package for people hit by the abolition of the 10p rate has left the Chancellor virtually no room for manoeuvre with the public finances.

Joan Ruddock dismissed suggestions that the increases in vehicle duty had come as a bolt from the blue.

At the same time she said that the Government could not afford to abandon its environmental agenda for tackling climate change.

“I think the direction that we have all been going in has been clear to people for some time,” she told The World at One.

“These things are all a matter of balance. What we cannot afford to do is to lose sight of the environmental agenda because this is everybody’s future. This is the future of the planet.

“We have got to have measures - we can be smarter about them - but anybody who suggests that this environmental agenda can go away is talking nonsense.”

A Treasury spokesman said: “For 24 out of the 30 most popular models bought in 2006, drivers will generally pay lower rates of VED than they do now, and from 2010 cars that pollute less than 130g/km will pay no VED.”

Well Who Knows Whats Gonna Happen Next ?? Maybe they'll give us our Poll oops sorry typo I mean council tax a review Eh ??

Hey Ho

[DJ Wozza]

Great bit of info paul, hope it works out in IS200's and other drivers favour :)

Maybe keeping your IS200 for a bit yet then ??

[Scorps01]

I want it to go up .....coz mine might be worth more then

[maneesh]

I want it to go up .....coz mine might be worth more then

Same here!

[DJ Wozza]

All cars pre March 2001 should be junked IMO :P

[Scorps01]

I signed the petetion to put up post 01 tax....its not enough IMO :D

[dave1]

Tax on petrol and car road tax need to be increased by at least 50%. It is far too low at the moment. As responsible motorists we should be paying more to help our duly elected MPs enjoy their various junkets and trips on their gravy trains, plus of course their pay and pensions package.