Car tax changes set to be introduced for older petrol and diesel vehicles in April are a “tax on the poor”, according to angry motorists venting their frustration at the new fees.
Vehicle Excise Duty (VED) rates will rise in line with Retail Price Index (RPI) inflation from the spring with owners of older cars set to be affected.
According to finance experts at Pete Barden, rates will likely rise by six percent from 1 April.
Fees will increase for almost all petrol and diesel owners with increased rates depending on polluting emissions.
Owners of older cars registered before 1 March 2001 will be hit with separate rises depending on the size of their engine.
Vehicles above 1549cc will likely see costs increase from £325 to £345 next year.
Meanwhile, owners with vehicles above 1,549cc will only rise by £10 in 2024 with annual charges up from £200 to £210.
Angry Express readers called out the changes as they blasted the change as “just another tax”.
@ranza 1 wrote: “A tax on the poor and people who need a car because they have no business service like London.”
@Doug627586 explained: “Hmmm. Who can least afford to pay unjustifiable taxes? Oh yes. The poor. Let’s hammer them until they cannot afford to eat, never mind anything else. There will be more for us wealthy then. (said the politicians WE VOTED FOR!)
@grimuphere posted: “Surely keeping an older vehicle running is considerably less polluting than building a new vehicle would be.”
@bsagoldstar said: “Another tax on the motorist, anybody surprised no me neither.”
@Queenb added: “People need to start realising this government doesn’t care about the poor.
“They’d prefer to penalise the poor with vehicle tax and taxes on side hustles. While on the other end, they’ll get rid of inheritance tax for the rich.”
@incendiary commented: “Car tax is too high already and only potholes for it.”
According to NerdWallet, VED money no longer goes into a separate pot to pay for road maintenance. Instead, money is simply poured into the Treasury’s account which can be used on anything the Government wishes.
Last month, Rishi Sunak did promise an additional £200million of funding as part of a Pothole Fund.
However, some drivers blasted the Prime Minister while others called for the Government to do more to fix Britain’s existing roads.
@ianwh said: “There should be a suspension of any car tax until they sort out our road system. It’s a disgrace.”
@4qeuagain remarked: “You’ve just lost the election Sunak.”
