Gas guzzlers set to face £950 tax
March 12, 2008
The chancellor has set out new plans to encourage the use of less polluting cars in a bid to tackle climate change.
The most polluting vehicles will face a £950 "showroom" tax that will come into effect from April 2010.
The government is also introducing a new top band for the most polluting vehicles that emit more than 255g of carbon dioxide per kilometre.
Transport is the second-largest source of carbon dioxide emissions in the UK, accounting for 28% of all emissions.
Aviation tax
Companies are being encouraged to opt for less polluting vehicles in their corporate fleets, with all but the least polluting vehicles set to face higher tax rates.
The government also proposed levying a fuel tax of two pence per litre, but said that it would not come into effect until October, because of recent high energy prices.
Other measures mentioned in the Budget include plans to introduce legislation to cut the use of free plastic bags given out by retailers unless firms voluntarily make attempts to cut down on their use.
And from 2009, unless companies make changes, Mr Darling said legislation would come into effect that could reduce the number of plastic bags in circulation by around 12 billion.
The government reiterated that it was set to end the Air Passenger Duty (APD) airport tax scheme and substitute it with a tax per flight system from November 2009.
But Mr Darling added that revenue from aviation duty would rise by 10% in the second year of the new tax system.
More needed
The latest moves were a disappointment to many environmentalists, who want a different approach to tackle climate change.
"A truly green chancellor would have told the aviation industry their tax subsidies worth billions of pounds are being cancelled and the money is being channelled into the railways," said Greenpeace.
"Instead Labour is still committed to more runways, more emissions and more climate change."
A parliamentary group recently said the government was not doing enough in terms of green taxes and claimed that the Treasury continually demonstrated "a lack of ambition and imagination".
Print this page