'Secret' tax for family cars - surely not fair?

[Maiakins]

I couldn't believe it when I read in the Times this morning about the new road tax rules to include cars up to seven years old. This means we'll be paying £300 next year for our used 2003 Ford Galaxy and £455 the following year onwards.

See 'Secret tax adds £200 to cost of running family cars' - driving.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/driving/article3842848.ece?Submitted=true

It makes me mad as if you have 3 or more young children and need 3 infant car seats, these cars are the only models that suit. This is especially true if you have twins/triplets and need to fit in a double buggy. It isn't ethically right to backdate a tax to a decision we now have no influence over. Fair enough to tax cars from 2006 onwards when the law was introduced and people were aware, but what are we supposed to do if we already have the car? Urgh!!!!!!!

I've been a Labour voter all my life and this is the last straw!

Riven, you are spot on.
Schemes like Motability need looking at - maybe we should be lobbying out MPs on stuff like this.

People seem to equate large family sized cars with this higher tax. In fact many people carriers, particularly diesel ones, have relatively low emmissions, so it's a bit naive to say it will have an adverse effect on families with 3 or more children. There are many 7 seaters out there that either won't be affected, or will be affected a small amount.

The UK has free contraceptive services on the NHS, there is free education and most schools have a comprehensive programme on sex education. Even if there is an unplanned pregnancy it is possible to get an abortion in the UK in dire circumstances.

If you choose to have a large family then I think you need to except that its going to be expensive. Our planet is seriously over populated and China have a one child policy.

Do you really think that people should be actively encouraged to have lots of children? I disagree with the one child policy in China, but I think its fair to discourage large families in all parts of the world including the UK.

There are a lot of people in the world starving because of lack of resources. In the UK housing is getting increasingly expensive becuase of the rise in population.

You don't have to own a car with a large engine. Or you can own a hybrid.

I see nothing wrong with a bit of active pressure to make a family change an old car to one that is more enviromentally friendly. Old cars are terrible for the enviromnent.

Large families use up more of the education budget, the nhs, rubbish and all other kinds of services. Schools, hospitals, roads and social security have to be paid for. No one likes paying tax.

My income tax has doubled on my low paid job. I feel narked that higher income people have had a reduction in tax. I plan to vote conservative next election because of it.

I feel with tax credits that a lot of money is lost in bureaucacy. The forms to fill out are complex and it requires an army of civil servents. It is also a complete and utter nightmare if you end up over paying on tax credits.

I would prefer families with disablities to get the cash than it to be spent on governant red tape.

I think if the tax system was simplified then more benefits could be paid to people with disablites. Or providing more respite care so that the parents of disabled kids get a chance to live a normal life occassionally. Even if people don't want to work, better respite services would stop people's relationships falling apart.

I have a friend whose son is severely disabled and he is forced to take a low paid part time job because of lack of childcare. His son's SLD school does not have an after school club and neither does the MLD school I work at.

It does not take a top level accountant to realise that doubling my income tax bill brings in very little extra income to spend on the country. It does is make me wonder why work so damm hard for very little.

Supposely I could use working tax credits for childcare, but our after school is not yet OFSTED registered inspite of being going for year. (They get away with it as the children are there for less than two hours)
Why is it made so difficult for an after school to get registered with OFSTED?

Surely a club that in a school does not have to be so strictly regulated as a childminder who works with young children on their own.

you write a load of cr*p rivenhead about larger families. Not even going to qualify this to you.

and you have 4 kids!! - why be against larger families????

What has riven said that's against large families?

the following annoyed me .....

"Do you really think that people should be actively encouraged to have lots of children? I disagree with the one child policy in China, but I think its fair to discourage large families in all parts of the world including the UK.

There are a lot of people in the world starving because of lack of resources. In the UK housing is getting increasingly expensive becuase of the rise in population."

Cupsoftea - that was reallytired that made those comments, not riven.

Gosh so it was - HUGE APOLOGY RIVEN (cupsoftea is really sorry)

so annoyed with you reallytired!!!

Reallytired also made this comment that really irritated me
"Large families use up more of the education budget, the nhs, rubbish and all other kinds of services. Schools, hospitals, roads and social security have to be paid for."

Such a sweeping generalisation. While nobody likes paying tax, apparantly reallytired doesn't like larger families, either.

I think it is fine to increase the tax on less environmentally new cars (as one can then choose accordingly) but very unfair to backdate it. According to the parkers link we will be paying £100 a year more tax on our 2003 VW passat, which seemed at the time a sensible type of car for a family of four with pushchair etc. to put in the back. If we were to sell it now the depreciation from the price we paid for it new would be huge so we would lose a lot of money..it would also still be being used by another family so the planet would be no better off? I should also say that we only own one car and my DH takes the train to work at vast expense.

So really this just appears another stealth tax to make more money for the govt, and punishes those who are less well off and cannot afford to change car most. At the same time the gov't is trying to expand Heathrow and encourage more flights which are far more polluting. I think its complete madness that it is cheaper to fly than get the train to many destinations..If the government really cared about the environment they would do something about this.

Riven - not all large families get CTC - we don't.

And the US is generous with tax breaks for families.

Neither do we, ST.

thanks Juuule for putting me right on the name mixup!!

reallytired also says

"I feel with tax credits that a lot of money is lost in bureaucacy. .....and it requires an army of civil servents.

I would prefer families with disablities to get the cash than it to be spent on governant red tape. "

Just goes to show really how little you know. The Govt is committed to losing thousands of civil servants. Not those at the top who earn megabucks but normal taxpaying working people. They would hardly have brought in a system requiring an "army" of people they are trying to get rid of.

Yes the whole tax and benefits system should be simplified but it isn't a vote winner so won't happen. As for "tax was 33% under the tories" yes it was but the lower paid were taxed on a much lower proportion of their pay. Most was covered by allowances. Surely it is fairer for the higher paid to pay more and the lower paid to keep a higher proportion of their wages? Plus NI was 6%- now it's 11%, so overall taxation is over 30%.

The population of the UK has been dropping drastically for years. Reproduction rates are well below replacement levels. The Govt uses that fact as an excuse for allowing mass immigration, so how is that relevant?