Is this a better option for 'high polluting cars'?

Question

With all of the current debate about road tax - I think I have a better solution.

Basically, it doesn't matter how much your car pollutes per mile what is important is how much CO2 you create in total.

If you have a 300g CO2/mile car and do 5000 miles per year, you produce the same CO2 as a 100g CO2/mile car that does 15000 miles per year (1500 kgs of CO2 in total). The amount of CO2 you produce is linked directly to the amount of petrol/diesel that you use.

If we abolish road tax (which in 2006/7 brought in £5.1 billion) we could increase the price of petrol and diesel (which brought in £23.6 billion and at least another £4 billion in VAT) to make up the short fall - about 10p per litre.

Now, whilst that may sound terrible, it does mean that we could also abolish the part of the DVLA that runs the whole road-tax system. The disc would be replaced by an insurance disc that your insurer issues with your policy. It also means that foreign drivers are being charged...

Answer 1

I've never understood why they never did this years ago when they were losing millions on untaxed cars...every car has to buy fuel to go anywhere....seems only logical that the more miles you drive the more you should pay for the upkeep of the roads.

But when did any government listen to good ideas?

By the way, I am one of the unfortunate people that will be faced with the increase in tax as my vehicle is a 4x4....which last year I managed the grand total of putting 300 miles on the clock!

Answer 2

Sounds good to me. You would still need a central registration system for vehicles, though, which is one of the main functions of the DVLA. Maybe drop the licence fee to just cover admin, and then add on whatever is needed to the cost of fuel.

Answer 3

Microscopic particles from car exhausts exacerbate respiratory conditions which helps to kill people.  It does matter!

ALL cars should pollute as little as possible, regardless of how often or how far they are driven.

Answer 4

I would agee with you. That idea has been around before. It basically means the more miles you do the more road tax you pay. If you decide not to use your car for six months you pay no tax.

Answer 5

If Im not mistaken they operate a similar system in France which I believe works well.  As for me I drive a 4X4 as I need to be able to tow a trailer but dont do many miles so yes do it not only will it cut jobs at the DVLA it would also mean that you pay as you pollute.

Answer 6

I think the government doesn't use completely rational thinking when deciding on taxes. Your reasoning sounds right, but the public won't accept an increase in petrol prices at the moment. Plus there is also the question of equity. It may appear unfair for poor families to struggle to pay for their people mover, while the rich have large/luxury/sport cars sitting in the garage. Petrol use may not only be the only consideration. Smaller cars may be safer or take up less space, so this may be a smaller reason why there is adjustments to vehicle tax.

Answer 7

Problem is, how are they going to know how much you drive.  By putting spome tracking device in your car.  No thanks.  It's all a bunch of bollocks anyway.  CO2 is a life giver, not a life taker.  This just puts an extra billion quid in government coffers and has nothing to do with the environment.

Edit:  I see, I misunderstood.  Not a bad idea then, but you may have an increase in the use of purple fuel, and the government would also lose out a fair bit of cash, if people didn't drive as much, now they have a fairly secure known amount of income from the road tax, but with your system it might fluctuate too much and therefore they wouldn't be able to bank on having that income.