The Government’s handling of road taxes is giving environmental taxes a bad name, according to a report by the Commons Transport Committee (CTC).
The report states that motorists are receiving mixed signals from the Government regarding fuel duty and other motoring taxes. The taxes have been presented as a way of reducing carbon emissions, a source of general revenue and a means to fund transport investment.
And the CTC says the unclear message from the Government has made people much more sceptical about ‘green taxes’.
Launching the report, Committee Chairman Louise Ellman MP said: "The Government handled a phased set of increases to Vehicle Excise Duty so badly they tarnished the image of environmental taxes.”
The CTC urged the Government to implement measures to reduce carbon emissions in the form of car-use taxes as opposed to car-ownership taxes.
Ellman added: "We believe taxation based on car usage - through fuel duty - remains fairer than any approach based on car ownership and does more to encourage fuel efficiency or reduce CO2 emissions. We recognise that economic factors will limit how much revenue can be raised by this method. We call on the Government to develop other measures to address the problem of congestion.”
The report found increases in the cost of travelling by rail or bus, coupled with an 18 percent drop in the cost of running a car in the last 20 years, has made it more difficult to encourage people to use their cars less.
Several motoring groups expressed concerns about the rise in road taxes and confusion about what the taxes were for.
RAC Foundation Director Professor Stephen Glaister said: “The problem is simple – too many vehicles on too little road space and no clear explanation to drivers of exactly what they get in return for the £45 billion or so they contribute to the Exchequer each year.”
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