At Play In The Fields Of al-Gore

New green taxes for 'gas-guzzling' cars
Motorists face having to pay new green taxes as ministers step up their war on "gas-guzzling" cars.

The Government wants to get people out of high-emissions vehicles by making them more expensive, while also cutting the cost of driving for more environmentally-friendly options.

Two recently published reports commissioned by the Department for Transport examine the impact of raising the cost of buying the most polluting cars, and of increasing running costs by raising road tax or fuel prices.

Let's be honest. The increase in running costs will come about by raising the road tax and fuel prices.

Labour's plans, although not as advanced, echo those announced by the Tories last year. David Cameron's advisors drafted a series of "green supertaxes" which would add as much as £3,000 (US$5,940.89) in tax to the showroom price of bigger cars.

The first detailed report, by Cambridge Econometrics, sought to identify policies that "might be used to reduce CO2 emissions from road transport."

It said its findings confirmed "the prior beliefs of the DfT", that people buying cars in the middle tax bands were most likely to be affected by small changes in both purchase price and running costs.

A £3,000 'green supertax' would be a small change in the purchase price. rofl

According to the report, these drivers are most likely to choose more environmentally friendly cars next time they go into the showroom.

This was reinforced by a second study, by the Economics for the Environment Consultancy, which examined what would happen if only 1 per cent was added to the showroom price of new cars.

The economists found the biggest impact on carbon dioxide emissions came when prices were hiked up for cars in the middle of the market, between 141 grams CO2 per kilometre and 225.

In this range - encompassing a Ford Fiesta 1.4 to a Ford Focus 2.5 - the change in price would see large numbers of motorists buying greener cars.

The DfT said the studies were "routine research" without any policy recommendations.

But the willingness of the DfT to commission them is significant, given that Alistair Darling, the Chancellor, has ordered his own report on how motorists can be encouraged to chose greener cars.

That study, from Professor Julia King, vice-chancellor of Aston University, is due to be presented before the next budget.

Last night the Tories welcomed the Government's readiness to adopt green motoring taxes.

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But the AA voiced alarm at the prospect of yet more motoring taxes.

"National and local government are coming up with yet more schemes which are financially punitive for car owners and their families," said a spokesman.

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Read it all at The Telegraph

The American Left salivates.