Brown must do a U-Turn on Vehicle Excise Duty, demands Stephen Metcalfe

Motorists left to pick up tab for failed Government policies

STEPHEN Metcalfe, Prospective Conservative MP for South Basildon & East Thurrock has backed Conservatives in Parliament in their attempt to force Gordon Brown into a u-turn over Government plans to backdate taxes for high-emission cars to 2001.

Conservatives have tabled an amendment for the final stage of the Finance Bill to be debated this week, that will try and force the Government to drop plans to backdate the tax to 2001.

The Government is to change the way that Vehicle Excise Duty (VED) is calculated to raise an extra £2,500,000,000 for Gordon Brown’s coffers. Family cars face higher VED as well as a ‘showroom tax’ for new cars. The VED tax will be retrospective – so any car bought after 2001 will be hit by the higher tax rates. This will lead in turn to a plummeting re-sale price for second-hand cars. This will make it more difficult for people to replace their car and upgrade to a new or better one.

For example, the tax bill for a typical Ford Mondeo will rise from £210 to £310 a year, with a new £500 showroom tax on top. Yet, even the Government’s own estimates show that carbon dioxide emissions from motoring will hardly be cut at all.

Stephen Metcalfe said: “With the abolition of the 10p Tax Rate, fuel prices rocketing, energy prices rising, mortgage cost growing in the wake of the credit crunch, food prices spiraling and higher Council Tax bills - everyone is feeling the effects of the soaring cost of living.

And now the cost of driving a car will soon be even higher – the Government should scrap its plans for a big increase in road tax on family cars. This is yet another slap in the face from Labour. Along with everything else this is really hitting hard-working families across Basildon & Thurrock.”

“Conservatives have consistently opposed these measures. The Government must execute a sharp U-turn. Any change in road tax should focus only on the most polluting vehicles, and be offset by equivalent reductions in family taxes. All Gordon Brown is interested in is finding new ways to push up his notorious stealth taxes even further.”