So if we all start driving "Eco Cars"

[vwdeviant 0]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7518683.stm

 

As old Brownie wants us to

road transport had reached an "historic turning point" and rising fuel prices created "huge opportunities for technological innovation and commercial change".

 

 

If we all suddenly jumped on the Electric car bandwagon. What would he tax us on instead of Petrol/Diesel?

 

Tyres?

Tolls?

Breathing? :camp:

[Jim 1]

This is what worries me. Tax will have to come out of somewhere - I can only assume that cars will have to have special hookup points or something, and the electricity will be taxed specially :(

[davidwort 0]

I think it's pretty obvious, cars will always be taxed in some kind of banding system now, based on emissions or efficiency in some way. New vehicles will simply fall into the lower bands and if necessary more bands will be added at the bottom, and maybe top.

So for instance a focus 1.6 diesel currently in the low band attracting 35 quid a year tax will eventually have new lower bands below it and they'll simply increase the cost of the current £35 band by more than inflation. It's not going to happen over night though, so that focus will be in a relatively low cost band for 5 maybe 10 years.

We already pay tax on electricity, albeit lower than petrol, but I can imagine electric cars would simply be put in higher VED bands or something to compensate for the lower tax on that fuel type, either that or re-charge points will have to pay higher tax than domestic electricity supply.

It'll all take a long time though, I can't see us all running electric cars in 10 years time.

[Andy665 0]

Whilst I agree that we cannot stick our heads in the sand and ignore the fact that there needs to be development on alternative means of motive power the stance that Old Gordon Clueless and his cronies (in fact, politicians in general) really concerns me.

 

There is so much spouted from people who know little or nothing but are advised by people who generally have a personal agenda.

 

Why can't people start to practice what they preach, little things could send out a more positive message:

 

Mr Brown could take commercial flights rather than arranging private flights

 

Lets see senior politicians using public transport (where possible) instead of using their ministerial cars - at least Ken Livingstone stood by his principles and used public transport extensively

 

Lets see the government giving tax breaks to companies who are investing / researching new technologies

 

As Jim says though, revenue will still need to be raised, if we all went electric then tax would soon be raised massively on this - also lets not forget that a significant amount of C02 is generated by the production of electricity so development on renewable energy needs to ramped up too

[vornwend 0]

Yep he will still need to find the tax take from somewhere. Normally these lifestyle changes occur at glacial speeds so the treasury has plenty of time to adjust its funding models. Thats why above inflation changes to tax are normally introduced over many years (fags, beer, fuel escalator, land fill tax etc etc)

 

Maybe he's right to say there are opportunities for British companies to get in on the green car revolution but I suspect we are already behind the curve on this one and it'll be the Germans and Japanese who clean up (economically and environmentally)

 

Crude a weapon as fuel price is its probably the most effective way of getting us to drive and pollute less. I'd like to see some joined up thinking around getting us to use the roads less because untold millions are wasted with road congestion. That would be a real gain for the treasury if it fed through to UK PLC being more productive. Thinking of things like - better (and more affordable) public transport, incentives for home working, planning that seeks to reduce the amount people have to travel to work or shops. A lot of what we see now is totally opposite to that - eg local post office closures, out of town retail outlets. Bristol is a mess with virtually all the major new employers/shopping areas of recent years allowed to site themselves North of the city not surprising that it gets grid locked is it :? I know we have new planning frameworks on things like Green Travel Plans but all feels too little too late.

 

 

If only we had discovered North sea oil 30 years later we'd all be laughing now and have billions of surplus cash to invest.

[davidwort 0]

If only we had discovered North sea oil 30 years later we'd all be laughing now and have billions of surplus cash to invest.

 

from what I understand it was North sea oil that helped to bring down the global price of oil after the 70's crisis, so we've had the help from that already.

[n3p 3]

Tired of that sh1t banging on about being green, we live on a tiny island

[vornwend 0]

No doubt we got huge benefits from North Sea oil but even at peak production in 1999 it was only 2.7M barrels per day (now about 1.2M) when world demand is around 75 to 80 so I doubt if it made much difference to the price especially as that peak came at a time when the world didn't really need it. With hindsight we should have played a waiting game but back then (and now) successive governments had got used to the steady stream of revenue from the North Sea and coudn't turn it down.

 

All I'm saying is that I'd rather have huge stocks to sell at $140 a barrel than the $20 or less it was in 1999.

 

Academic argument really :eek: Bit like complaining that GB sold our Gold reserves when the price hit rock bottom.

 

Hang on to your Corrados - they will be worth a fortune in years to come - you heard it here first :)

[vwdeviant 0]

Bit like complaining that GB sold our Gold reserves when the price hit rock bottom.

 

Another Brown "brilliant idea" too! :gag:

 

Right where's that boat out of here to the "land of the free" where Petol's £1-1.50/US Gallon and they are complaining! :nuts:

[RaddoMan 0]

they will tax the new cars when you buy it from new.

[Guest]

I wonder if dinosaurs had taxes? Brown seems to be one! and the sooner he fooks off the better

 

sustainable this, green that, its ALL bullshit to apease euro knob shiners whose sole purpose is to line their OWN pockets because it suits them, get their name in lights, i saved the planet, get a nobel peace prize, yeah thats fine but NOT at our expense! as said they are all hypocritical bastards anyway

 

Look at the gun licencing laws, how many of the old bastards that created that legislation actually ever involved themselves in an historic sporting past time? NONE! has it stopped nutters getting illegal guns and shooting people? NO

 

Fox hunting Ban, also created by do gooding be-maoners, the original basis was to stop the way some forms of hunting were done, nope not good enough, some penis who lives in milton keynes or London decides he knows best for the countryside, now urban foxes and country foxes are on the increase and the natural attrition is not controlling numbers so we are over run with the filthy vermin!

 

When i see EVERY do gooding ill advised politcal knob, catch a bus, drive an electric car, use a train, walk to work, use solar powered energy in their home, recycle every possible item they can

 

Then and only then will i even give any of this governments crass, tax crazed agenda any time at all

we live on an island, thats supposedly a green and pleasant land according to the song Jerusalem, think i would rather live in Beruit!!! at least you know you havnt got a chance of political sense!