Budget could cost motorists who aren’t green enough

by Richard Kilner

Story link: Budget could cost motorists who aren’t green enough

Chancellor Alistair Darling’s first Budget is tomorrow, and expectations are that it will combine a green agenda with tight public finances by increasing the number of green taxes.

For motorists, this is likely to impact the less environmentally vehicles which will probably be subjected to higher levels of road tax.

Correspondingly, greener cars may well see their tax reduced, in an effort to effect environmentally friendly behaviour as well as raising more revenue for the Treasury.

As well as altering road tax, it is thought that the Chancellor may make similar moves with vehicle excise duty, lowering it for green vehicles and raising it for vehicles such as 4×4s.

However, the government has over a million motorists who still opt for environmentally unfriendly vehicles it needs to convince to choose greener cars, suggesting it has its work cut out.

In addition to the presumed changes due in the Budget, greener cars also save on the ever increasing price of petrol through greater fuel efficiency, as well as benefiting from less costly car insurance.