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iTrader: (2)

Hello fellow Scoobynetters. Well, apparently the government could be about to wobble on the new vehicle excise duty rates that it intends to apply retrospectively to cars registered after March 2001 and which will see your annual road tax jump from £210 to £455 once fully implemented

So far, forty labour MPs have signed a Commons motion urging the chancellor to scrap this tax hike claiming that it's grossly unfair because it penalises motorists for purchasing decisions they made years ago. In addition, it will also hit many poorer motorists and at a stroke has reduced the resale value of our cars, making it harder to trade them in even if we were able to afford something newer. They are meeting with that theiving toe-rag Alistair Darling today to put their case.

The government are on the back foot at the moment so there is a real chance that, with the right pressure applied, they will relent. Please read the email below I have just sent to Alistair Darling MP ( darlinga@parliament.uk ) expressing my feelings. Please take two minutes of your time, copy it and amend as needed/you wish and email him too. Please also pass it on to friends/colleagues, and post on any other forums you use. If we can bombard his inbox with tens or even hundreds of thousands of emails on this matter, I think it could make a real difference

Cheers, Andrew

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Dear Mr Darling

I'm writing to you about the retrospective increase in vehicle excise duty that the government is planning to introduce for higher emitting CO2 vehicles registered on or after March 1st 2001.

I am someone who cares about the environment and with dwindling oil supplies and the debate over climate change, I can see the logic in applying higher VED rates to higher CO2 emitting vehicles at the point of purchase, therefore allowing someone who is purchasing a new vehicle to make an informed choice in the light of these higher rates. However, to apply these rates retrospectively is disgraceful.

It's hard to believe that a British government would apply retrospective taxation. It goes against all notions of natural justice. Car-buying decisions aren't made lightly, but to tell someone years later that he or she made the wrong choice and that you’re now going to cripple them financially is criminal.

When I purchased my current car, climate change was far less of an issue, so I made my choice accordingly. With mortgage payments, fuel and food costs soaring, I can't afford to buy a cheaper tax band, newer car. And even if I could, the prospect of these higher rates has at a strike knocked £thousands off the second-hand value of my current vehicle making it even more impossible for me to do so. Besides, as I’m sure you’re aware, a large proportion of the total CO2 emissions of a vehicle results from its manufacture; forcing people to sell perfectly good vehicles (even if they are higher CO2 emitters) to buy new ones will actually produce a larger carbon footprint overall.

In recent weeks, the government has claimed that it is listening to the pain of its people and trying to help them. If this is the case, I urge you to scrap these penal VED rates for older cars, which will hit many people who are least able to afford them and do absolutely nothing to help the environment.

Finally I would like to add that I have been a lifelong Labour supporter, but for me, this issue will be the straw that breaks the camel’s back. If you implement this disgraceful tax rise, I will never ever vote Labour again.

Yours sincerely

The Chief

Well done fella i'll bung him a mail later on

cheers