Secret Road Tax Hits Thousands
Older cars to be subject to higher road tax
Older cars now included
Older vehicles were expected to be exempted from changes designed to penalise high emissions, but the Treasury has now apparently admitted that it failed to make clear that owners of larger cars bought since March 2001 will be hit.
This means that tens of thousands of families will have to pay up to £245 extra a year under the new rules because of the covert decision to include seven-year-old cars.
The Treasury hoped to quietly abolish the exemption for older cars.
It is understood the increases are being introduced in two stages, with many owners who are now paying £210 a year being charged £300 in 2009 and up to £455 in 2010.
The revelations come at a time when the cost of motoring continues to soar and drivers struggle to meet costs.
Critics have said that the Government failed to make clear that new changes to road tax would include older cars.
Paul Watters, head of roads policy at the AA, said: ‘The Government presented the changes as means of influencing people's purchasing decisions, but it turns out that they are also penalising hard-pressed families who have been running the same car for many years.’
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