The Conservatives on Rolling Classic Car Tax
Discussion
I dropped CMD an email last week asking about what their policy would be on reintroducing the rolling classic car tax expemtion. Here's the reply:
Dear Mr Hughes,
I am writing on behalf of David Cameron to thank you for your email.
Under the previous Conservative administration, we introduced a rolling measure so that historic vehicles would be exempt from paying vehicle excise duty (the tax disc) if they were more than 25 years old. This was designed to help protect the history and heritage our motoring and transport heritage. However, in 1997, the current Labour Government froze the rolling aspect of this exemption; introducing a fixed cut off date instead. This meant that owners of any vehicle constructed after 1 January 1973 would have to pay vehicle excise duty if they were not declared to be off the road (SORN).
We fully understand your concern with this issue. Under the current arrangements there is a real danger that the tax on vehicles registered after 1973 may become too expensive for enthusiasts to afford. This is particularly an issue when an enthusiast has a collection of several vehicles. Many owners may only tax them for a few months in summer or even take them off the road indefinitely. The current system limits the opportunities of seeing these vehicles on the road and the additional costs could prove so burdensome that they threaten jobs in the restoration sector.
We believe that examples of our rich motoring history should be preserved for the enjoyment of future generations to come. As we move further away from the 1973 cut off date, the argument gets stronger and stronger to revise the current system. Unfortunately Labour's debt crisis means we are not in a position to make any promises regarding restoring the rolling VED date. However I will ask my team to look at this problem and see what affordable and practical measures could help.
Yours sincerely,
Nicola Sheldon
It's something I guess!
Dear Mr Hughes,
I am writing on behalf of David Cameron to thank you for your email.
Under the previous Conservative administration, we introduced a rolling measure so that historic vehicles would be exempt from paying vehicle excise duty (the tax disc) if they were more than 25 years old. This was designed to help protect the history and heritage our motoring and transport heritage. However, in 1997, the current Labour Government froze the rolling aspect of this exemption; introducing a fixed cut off date instead. This meant that owners of any vehicle constructed after 1 January 1973 would have to pay vehicle excise duty if they were not declared to be off the road (SORN).
We fully understand your concern with this issue. Under the current arrangements there is a real danger that the tax on vehicles registered after 1973 may become too expensive for enthusiasts to afford. This is particularly an issue when an enthusiast has a collection of several vehicles. Many owners may only tax them for a few months in summer or even take them off the road indefinitely. The current system limits the opportunities of seeing these vehicles on the road and the additional costs could prove so burdensome that they threaten jobs in the restoration sector.
We believe that examples of our rich motoring history should be preserved for the enjoyment of future generations to come. As we move further away from the 1973 cut off date, the argument gets stronger and stronger to revise the current system. Unfortunately Labour's debt crisis means we are not in a position to make any promises regarding restoring the rolling VED date. However I will ask my team to look at this problem and see what affordable and practical measures could help.
Yours sincerely,
Nicola Sheldon
It's something I guess!
Edited by Benjybh on Tuesday 4th May 18:12
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