Greens call for Government to abolish road tax and charge the polluters
27 May 2008
Green Party Principal Speaker Caroline Lucas MEP today urged the Government to reward responsible motorists by abolishing the Road Tax, and shift the responsibility onto gas-guzzlers through the fuel duty. The call comes as road lobbyists and lorry drivers stage a slow moving protest through London and Cardiff today against supposed green taxes on motorists that means rising fuel duties as well as a higher annual road tax charge.
Dr Lucas said:
"Gordon Brown and Alistair Darling clearly don't understand the uses and mechanisms of green taxation. Charging the most polluting vehicles with a flat tax will do nothing but enrage motorists and discredit the aim of green taxes, which is to change behaviour by actively rewarding more environmentally friendly behaviour. The flat road tax on vehicle ownership takes no account of road usage, and provides no incentive or reward for making less polluting travel choices.
"A far fairer alternative would be to scrap it altogether and move the responsibility solely onto fuel tax, so that those who choose to drive cars with large engines and are heavy road users will pay considerably more than those who choose to drive smaller, more energy efficient cars and use public transport more often.
Dr. Lucas added
"The total cost of motoring fell by 4 per cent since 2005 (1), yet the road lobby has consistently argued for more road building, more traffic, more pollution. They have attempted to block every effort to reduce our dependency on petrol. Now the price has inevitably risen, and they want the rest of us to pay for it through our taxes, or in cuts to services. The answer would be to remove the argument about road tax increases in one swipe, and introduce a scheme that rewards those who use less fuel.
"Most car owners would like to take more public transport, but some lobbyists seem determined to make it as hard for them as possible. Does Alasdair Darling have the foresight to scrap the road tax altogether and introduce the fairer and more equitable fuel duty?"
ENDS
Notes for editors
1 - Parliamentary answer from Jim Fitzpatrick, Parliamentary Under- Secretary, Department for Transport.www.theyworkforyou.com
