Even Greenpeace are against this....

[coxyhog]

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/motoring/main.jhtml?xml=/motoring/2008/07/10/mroadtax110.xml

 

[jberks]

I rarely agree with greepeace but their point that this gives green taxes a bad name is spot on. Thats the point though. It was never even vaguely a green tax really but rather a crude and blatant attempt to raise a few quid to prop up a morally, idealogically and now financially bankrupt government.

A green tax by definition, is intended to reduce the consumption of fuel. The recent hike in prices has done far more in that direction than anything a gov could do. A retrospecive attack like this has minimal effect on those that they claim to be having a go at. After all, if someone can afford to fuel a RR sport doing 18mpg, why would they care about an extra couple of hundred on their road tax. A low income family with a 6 year old Peugeot 2l however, is already struggling with the fuel prices and will have reduced their travel and hence emmissions as far as they can already so will simply be clobbered with no environmental benefit (as they can't reduce any further anyway). If perhaps they have a caravan (as many such people do), they are already on the smallest car they can get away with.

And anyone who thinks this is sour grapes ... my E270 kicks out 180gm, putting it into a quite managemable group - my road tax is fine thanks. My Freelander will be a tad higher but what exactly am I supposed to use to tow nearly 2 tonnes of trailer and horse out of a muddy field? A Kia picanto isn't exactly going to do the trick. It only does around 6kpa anyway so hardly a major emitter. I could maybe buy a smart and only use the fl when I need to, reducing my carbon footprint - but would this be reflected in my tax bill? Nope - it would actually increase it. Because it never had anything to do with green issue in the first place.

A neighbour has a oldish roller. He rarely uses it, mainly using a more sensible eco box but it gives him pleasure. Yes, despite probably doing less than 1k pa, He will be clobbered with exaclt the same tax as the 'city' guy who uses his Porsche to commute back and forth to his Gloustershire pad.

Really fair and equitable that.

Rant over.

 

[Alex M Grieve]

Happily, Quentin Wilson was able to get several important points into a piece he did for Sky News on 10th July. He noted that, regardless of the rights and wrongs of this "green" tax, now that the cat is out of the bag a great many cars will now be virtually unsaleable. Those who have bought such cars on finance will now be in negative equity.
Gordon Brown wants drivers to have instruction which will change their behaviour and make them into "eco-drivers". He seems to have got the right idea (behavioural change) but missed the point when he failed to apply it to making safer drivers. Safer drivers would have fewer collisions, cause less havoc and would injure fewer people, thus taking pressure off the NHS.
Safer drivers will also have a much better chance of survival in the event of crashing the eco boxes we might all be driving in future. I plan to stick to my "Super Light" at around 2 tonnes! One can never be too careful.

 

[coxyhog]

Do the politicians & the eco-warriors actually think that anything we do in our tiny corner of the world will have an effect on global warming?

 

[st4]

Do the politicians & the eco-warriors actually think that anything we do in our tiny corner of the world will have an effect on global warming?

Exactly. Only a very stupid person would believe that us driving cars, taking planes etc will have any impact on the planet whatsoever. Not even a volcanic eruption can change the weather, and that puts out 10x more CO2 than all of mans activities/year.

 

[JEZ.S320L]

Exactly. Only a very stupid person would believe that us driving cars, taking planes etc will have any impact on the planet whatsoever. Not even a volcanic eruption can change the weather, and that puts out 10x more CO2 than all of mans activities/year.

Oh God Does that mean Mr Bean and his Band of Thieves are now going to put a 'Green Tax' on volcanoes?

Incidently, near where I am staying (Brighton), some overpaid wizz kid came up with the idea of a 'bus corridor'. This has resulted in THREE lanes being turned into TWO lanes + a BUS LANE. The upshot being - TOTAL and ABSOLUTE CHAOS. Long queues of standing traffic (what enviromental impact, there then..!!??) The buses are gridlocked - because of the standing traffic PRIOR to the 'Bus Lane'.
Where previously the journey could be completed in 10 minutes, it now takes 30 minutes...!!!!! :roll:

Well thought out, wasn't it..? NOT..!!!