Budget tax exemption ‘impossible’
Last week’s Budget could make it impossible for diesel vehicles to avoid paying higher tax, according to Autocar.
Chancellor Philip Hammond announced that diesel cars falling below a certain standard will go up by one tax band from next April. However, Autocar editor Mark Tisshaw says the exemption standard, called Real Driving Emissions Step 2, won’t be introduced until 2020. He says that it will therefore be impossible to prove a vehicle meets that standard until then.
He said, ‘The chancellor had an opportunity this week to clarify the road ahead for diesels, both for motorists and the car industry. But instead, he has created enormous confusion with a ruling that makes no sense. If he really was serious about tackling pollution caused by diesel cars, he would have announced incentives around getting older, more polluting vehicles off the road.’
The new tax rules could hit nearly three million motorists from next April.
