Almost half of all car owners will be up to £245 worse off under plans for massive increases in road tax, the Treasury admitted yesterday. And fewer than one in five will benefit from the controversial move, which was sold as a way to cut greenhouse gas emissions. More than 1m drivers of cars registered between 2001 and 2006 will see road tax jump from £210 to either £430 or £455 depending on emissions, while others face hikes of between £10 and £155. Only 18% of motorists will see the price of a tax disc fall, 39% will pay the same and 43% to pay more.
The Chancellor Alistair Darling, has given strong signals that he will ‘fix’ the problem this autumn, probably by phasing in a retrospective element of the change which applies to vehicles registered between 2001 and 2006. The new regime starts to kick in next year but the biggest changes will hit in 2010 - weeks before the likely date of the next General Election.
