Motorists shafted again in the budget!

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HowardQ · #1 Post by **HowardQ** » Thu Mar 13, 2008 12:42 am

See the motorists got shafted again, as usual, in the budget.
But again as usual with this goverment, we get all the bullshit and lies.
For ages now the Chelsea Taxi Gas Guzzlers have been getting bad press, and nobody argues with that do they?
So when they announce big increases for gass guzzlers, we all think serves them bloody right, only ever go off road in Tesco's car park.

Try digging a bit further to find out what a gas guzzler is, and what the immediate changes will be.
I have a diesel car that is currently averaging almost 50 mpg mainly commuting and shortish motorway runs, plus occasional longer motorway and A road journeys. I don't think of it as a gas guzzler, especially if I compare it to my old V6 Vectra which did eactly half as much to the gallon, but it seems the Goverment think it's still a gas guzzler, (C02 rating at 175, in the same group as a 2 litre petrol Mondeo). As explained on tonight's news, something like a Mondeo or similar family car will have an tax increase up from £170p.a. to £260p.a., an increase of 52.9%.
Can't remember the actual initial increase for gas guzzlers at the top of the scale, but I think it was somehing like up from £400 to £570 ish, an percentage increase in the low 40% range. Why do diesel family (and business cars) get the biggest hit?

I dont think of my car a gas guzzler, but obviously the Goverment do for tax purposes.
They could have just been honest and announced they were going to hit all the normal family cars, and the 2 litre deisel cars that everybody had bought thinking they would save money. You save on fuel tax by getting a more economical diesel car and we'll hit you with more car tax and £5 plus per gallon diesel to get our taxes back. Then again politicians don't do "HONEST" do they.
Not seen the figures on bikes yet, but don't suppose they will leave us alone, after all my Falco is a massive gas guzzler compared with my diesel Alfa, as it only does around 40mpg.
Then again there's always the price increases on beer, fags, wine and spirits to cheer us up!
Oh sorry that's a tax increase to stop kids drinking and binge drinking and clean up our towns and cities, silly me.

lazarus · #2 Post by **lazarus** » Thu Mar 13, 2008 8:35 am

The CO2 your car emits depends entirely on its fuel consumption so at 175 it isnt a gas guzzler (ie band G at >225) but neither is it econoimical. There are 5 tax bands lower than you.

Family cars used to be 1 litre not 2. Maybe a Smart car next time?

Aladinsaneuk · #3 Post by **Aladinsaneuk** » Thu Mar 13, 2008 9:30 am

thanks lord - I drive an Audi A8 and my wife has an Audi A4 quattro

however, they are both over 6 years old so we just have the normal rate to pay....

any news on likely bike tax charges?

HowardQ · #4 Post by **HowardQ** » Thu Mar 13, 2008 12:39 pm

lazarus wrote:The CO2 your car emits depends entirely on its fuel consumption so at 175 it isnt a gas guzzler (ie band G at >225) but neither is it econoimical. There are 5 tax bands lower than you.

Family cars used to be 1 litre not 2. Maybe a Smart car next time?

The point I am making is that there are currently 7 bands, but even then a car that is constantly averaging around 50mpg GENUINE still only manages to be in the 5th band out of 7, so all normal cars have to be pretty economical to get in the lower bands, are there many cars averaging going on for 100mpg commuting, no I don't think so, hence we all get shafted unless. Yeh we could all drive in Smarts, (and they only just get into the 60s commuting), but have you ever tried gettin a family in a For Two!
Plus how can it be that a 2ltr petrol Mondeo end up in the same class a 2 ltr diesel?
The biggest problem is the majority of company cars are 2 ltr diesels, (320D, A4/3 TDI , Mondeo TDCI, Passat TDCI, Golf TDI etc.,) and they do a lot more to the gallon than the most common company cars of a few years ago, i.e. 2 ltr petrol cars, hence the Government are loosing a helluva lot on fuel tax so we get a 53% increase in car tax to help them get their money back.
This has never been about green issues, just the Goverment pulling in more tax off us all. Got to pay the billions for the Iraq and Afghan wars somehow.
As for 1 ltr family cars, I am old enough to remember them, cramming a mum and dad and four kids into a 60s Mini 1000!

Samray · #5 Post by **Samray** » Thu Mar 13, 2008 12:49 pm

Can't wait for Jezza's opinions.

Tweaker · #6 Post by **Tweaker** » Thu Mar 13, 2008 2:46 pm

Aladinsaneuk wrote:thanks lord - I drive an Audi A8 and my wife has an Audi A4 quattro

however, they are both over 6 years old so we just have the normal rate to pay....

You might want to read This before you offer up any prayers of thanks AS - page 122 table A.8a. My Saab 9-5 goes from the old band F to the new Band K and guess what - it'll cost me more

BikerGran · #7 Post by **BikerGran** » Thu Mar 13, 2008 8:19 pm

That's all such gobbledegook, it doesn't mean a thing to me!

#8 Post by **Kwackerz** » Thu Mar 13, 2008 10:24 pm

I drive..ermm..I dont actually. Gave up cars for the bike and moped.
Mrs K drives a 1997 1.4 Almera (Nissan) I have a 1.4 Tigra in the garage but dont use it (SORN'd)

I genuinely dont give a flying one about cars. Theyre shite and should only be used for taking rubbish to the tip and transporting sprogs about at the weekend.

I used to have a 3 litre Volvo but saw the light last year and downsized. There's no real need for a large engined car anyways. You can only do 70 in UK.

ligloo · #9 Post by **ligloo** » Thu Mar 13, 2008 10:30 pm

Kwackerz wrote:
I used to have a 3 litre Volvo but saw the light last year and downsized. There's no real need for a large engined car anyways. You can only do 70 in UK.

Was just thinking that today as I was stuck behing a Porsche Cayenne in my 2litre TDCI Mondeo ... (eeeek!!! how much extra is that going to cost me).... anyway we were all stuck at 25 mph... his car wasnt any better than mine and rarely will be the state of the roads around here

HowardQ · #10 Post by **HowardQ** » Thu Mar 13, 2008 10:46 pm

Sorry Kwacks but some of us do need a car, I can't use a bike for work as my car also transports other members of my family. I also have to have one for work, but working for a Local Authority I certainly don't get a company car and free fuel, even have to pay the council a fortune to park it in one of their car parks at work! I openly admit to having been a 2 and 4 wheeled petrol head for 40 plus years. I like it both ways!
I've raced and rallied cars and also did a bit of bike racing many years before track days were invented.
I have hated anything to do with diesel must of my like because diesel spills kill bikers. It therefore took a lot for me to go for a diesel car, and yeh I bought one that looks nice and goes well, but mainly because it does twice as much to the gallon as my previous Vectras. The idea was to save me money and do my bit to help save the planet, so why should I now get shafted, along with lots of others who thought they we being a bit greener, by a Government who like conning and taxing people.
As an afterthought, I would bet you any money that my 2.4 diesel Alfa will do more to the gallon commuting and be much cleaner than either of your 1.4 petrol cars. Sorry not gettin at you mate, just pissed off by lying politicians who take any excuse to tax us to death, mainly to support a couple of wars that we should never be in and leaves our servicemen having to come home to abuse on the streets here when they get well deserved leave!

Rant on this subject now over folks.

Aladinsaneuk · #11 Post by **Aladinsaneuk** » Thu Mar 13, 2008 10:50 pm

I believe that all cars manufactured/registered before 03/2001 are just listed as over 1495 cc - at least according to the dvla website yesterday evening....

so, theoretically, I could go buy the nastiest land rover from 1970, with a 8mpg petrol engine in it and pay less tax than a porsche cayenne with its cat converter etc...

now who said our politicians are pillocks.....

HowardQ · #12 Post by **HowardQ** » Thu Mar 13, 2008 10:59 pm

Aladinsaneuk wrote:I believe that all cars manufactured/registered before 03/2001 are just listed as over 1495 cc - at least according to the dvla website yesterday evening....

so, theoretically, I could go buy the nastiest land rover from 1970, with a 8mpg petrol engine in it and pay less tax than a porsche cayenne with its cat converter etc...

now who said our politicians are pillocks.....

Sorry Pete but if you are getting away with it now, it won't last mate.
Nice web site by the way, but as Dale pointed out, how do you find the bloody time?!?

and finally have to disagree -

ALL our politicians are pillocks.

ligloo · #13 Post by **ligloo** » Thu Mar 13, 2008 11:02 pm

can someone just tell me what I'll have to pay in future for a 53 plate 2 litre mondeo TDCI please, I'm with BG on this, its all gobbledegook to me

#14 Post by **Kwackerz** » Thu Mar 13, 2008 11:07 pm

I think you'll find that The forces' budget is pretty stagnant, with the changes coming not between the amount of money received, but where it's spread.

This year we got 33bn..

Last year we got.. 32bn

Year before we got.. 29bn

Year before that we got 28bn

and before that we got 27bn

Considering the increase in warfighting since 2004, that's fek all increase really! Remember this year we recieved a 2.9% payrise as well, that has to come out of that 33Bn quid.

You think theyre investing all that multi billion pound extra revenue in warfighting? One born every minute, eh?

We've had an increase in warfighting of 100% over the last 4 years yet only a 5 billion quid increase in funds over the same period.. (bearing in mind that will account for the tax back the lads in foreign climes get, extra rounds and shite like that..) not much really. That 33 Bn also includes our water borne colleagues and Biggles in his new Eurofighter. We've not got 2 coins to rub together considering how much revenue the Government rake in... 1 billion quid? That's small change on the grand scale. They probably make more out of the sex industry.

#15 Post by **Kwackerz** » Thu Mar 13, 2008 11:08 pm

ligloo wrote:can someone just tell me what I'll have to pay in future for a 53 plate 2 litre mondeo TDCI please, I'm with BG on this, its all gobbledegook to me

Nothing, youre going to change to a CBR600, wear tight fitting leathers and post copious amounts of piccies on the internet.