Hilary Benn defends road tax hike

[Platypus]

If we all drank a lot more alcohol then we wouldn’t be able to drive and therefore not need so much fuel.

I'm doing my bit! (hic)

[lilelvis2000]

So instead of encouraging me to buy a newer car, I'll be keeping my S reg Passat for many many years to come. But no doubt, Labour will back date this tax even more.

They promote this increase as a way to influence buying decisions, so I can seem some of the logic. All it will do is cause a crash in both new and used car prices.

[dang65]

If you can still afford to buy petrol, how can an extra 14 quid a year on VED be a problem? That's about ten litres these days isn't it? I would say the government has done a huge favour to people that can't afford new cars. The dealers won't be able to give away those Ford Focus things soon. So you buy a car for 300 quid that was worth 3 grand last week, thus saving 2700 pounds, which is about 15 years worth of VED.

[expat]

If you can still afford to buy petrol, how can an extra 14 quid a year on VED be a problem? That's about ten litres these days isn't it? I would say the government has done a huge favour to people that can't afford new cars. The dealers won't be able to give away those Ford Focus things soon. So you buy a car for 300 quid that was worth 3 grand last week, thus saving 2700 pounds, which is about 15 years worth of VED.

So you would think.

I did tell my partner, who has a 2003 Focus to sell, that it should not be unsaleable; it should merely be priced lower by the amount of extra duty that the buyer expects to pay. She tells me that the market is not being that rational.

[expat]

If we all drank a lot more alcohol then we wouldn’t be able to drive and therefore not need so much fuel.

This is not the effect observed in Brazil....

[Cyberman]

If you can still afford to buy petrol, how can an extra 14 quid a year on VED be a problem? That's about ten litres these days isn't it? I would say the government has done a huge favour to people that can't afford new cars. The dealers won't be able to give away those Ford Focus things soon. So you buy a car for 300 quid that was worth 3 grand last week, thus saving 2700 pounds, which is about 15 years worth of VED.

14 quid ? More like 245 quid !!!

Approximately 400,000 of the lowest paid (ie. core labour voters) are going to be hit with this massive rise. I detect another U-turn on the horizon !!

[dang65]

14 quid ? More like 245 quid !!!

Approximately 400,000 of the lowest paid (ie. core labour voters) are going to be hit with this massive rise. I detect another U-turn on the horizon !!

It's not a 245 quid rise though is it? For the Ford Focus everyone keeps banging on about the increase is something like 65 quid a year (not 14 quid, I made that figure up). That's about one full tank of diesel isn't it?

The VED for a Ford Focus will be 180 pounds p.a., so if the price of second-hand Ford Foci () plummets by, say, 1800 pounds then it's like buying at the old price but getting ten years of VED thrown in for free.

[TheBigYinJames]

It is a point that except for a small percentage of large CC cars, the tax increases are quite small compared with the running costs.

The ones doing most complaining (on the Parker's site where I work at present) are the ones who drive less than 10k miles a year - my point to them would be why have a car if you don't need one?

[Chugnut]

The ones doing most complaining (on the Parker's site where I work at present) are the ones who drive less than 10k miles a year - my point to them would be why have a car if you don't need one?

Eh?

Should they pogo-stick the 10k miles then?

[TheBigYinJames]

Eh?
Should they pogo-stick the 10k miles then?

Well, in that case they need the car, so cough up. They seemed to be using the excuse that since they don't drive it, they shouldn't have to pay.