Well, as you may be aware, there is presently a phasing out (over several years) of prescription charges in Scotland. There is also a pre-payment system for those who require significant numbers of items. If you had a pre-payment certificate in force on the date of the reduction, you are being encouraged (to the extent of being written to with a form just requiring signing) to claim a partial refund of the advance fees you'd over-paid.

"Another effect of the road tax increases is that they lead people to buy newer and less polluting cars."

Do you really think that a few extra quid car tax on a purchase running into many thousands will have an effect? I very much doubt it will influence people at all.

"Most people change their cars after two to five years, and those with the higher rated cars will tend toward the shorter end of that range. It seems to me that most people that will be hit hardest will only need to pull their renewal schedule forward a year or maybe two, to avoid the 2010 increase."

People have said this to me but the majority of people I know keep thier cars significantly longer than this. We kept our Mitsubishi for 10 years, the Mazda is 13 years old and we've had it for 10 years, the Fabia is 7 years old and we have no intention of replacing it and the Octavia is definitiely intended to be a "keeper".

Once again those who have the financial ability to change thier cars at short intervals are Not going to be influenced by increases in car tax that are relatively small in comparison to the overall purchase price.

If we ignore "the Shed", which I bought as cheaper than hiring for 3 weeks, and consider Samantha on planned length of ownership rather than ownership so far, I certainly don't change my car more often than every 5 years, and if I consider planned ownership for the Citroens I broke (1 crash, 1 timing tensioner destroying head and not economic to repair despite believing it had been changed when required), maybe once every 8 to 10 years.

ad tax were abolished tomorrow and fuel tax increased in line, then I have paid for six months road tax that I will pay again in fuel tax. The opposition and media would have a field day. The only way around that would be to delay the increase for twelve months, which would leave a big hole in Alistair's budget.

Very easy to do.

Set a cut off date at say 15 months in the future.

If you need a tax disk right now you pay for the full year , then once there are less than 12 months left your renewal notice will be sent out to bill you for the remaining months until the change.

If you need a new tax disk for the 9 months then you just pay 3/4 of the full years price.

On the big day then fuel duty rises by X pence a litre.

They are the 2 idiots who have defined such things as, for example, a Ford Focus 2.0l (non-turbo petrol) as a "gas-guzzler".

Or a 1.6 Auto Focus! Or a 1.4 16v Fabia Auto for that matter!! :eek:

If you want to do something, sign these petitions against the rises:

Petition to: Remove the unfair and unjust retrospective Vehicle Execise Duty levy (back to 2001 year vehicles) as announced in the Budget on 12/3/08.

Petition to: Abolish the 2008 Budget vehicle Road Tax changes as they are unfair and pretend to be "green".

If you want to do something, sign these petitions against the rises:

Petition to: Remove the unfair and unjust retrospective Vehicle Execise Duty levy (back to 2001 year vehicles) as announced in the Budget on 12/3/08.

Petition to: Abolish the 2008 Budget vehicle Road Tax changes as they are unfair and pretend to be "green".

Signed for not that they will take much notice.

and this one

Petition to: reduce the tax on petrol and diesel by 20p per litre.

My Roomy is ok drops £5,

The Fabia will go up to £260 :thumbdwn:

But if i was to change the fabia to a small engined car with cheap tax, it would cost alot more than keeping the Fabia for another 5 years. So i shell be keeping the 2.0i and enjoying it knowing i am saving money :confused:

Thanks to the two Jocks in central government we can all look forward to the following......I sincerely hope that these two can sleep at night knowing that we have had our pants severly pulled down on this one.......

Road tax - Parker's

It should also be noted that neither of these two residents of North of the Border holds a driving license. And some how having someone tell me that it is the right thing to do to massivily increase car taxation on some pretence to it being environmentally sound when they have no personal experience of running a car grates just a bit . . . hold on, make that A LOT

They're only raising car tax because they've been unable (politically) to raise fuel duty for a couple of years. Car tax makes no sense on environmenatal grounds as it doesn't take into account usage, fuel duty is a much more sensible and fair way to tax the most polluting drivers.

Rant over (it is the start of the weekend after all)

So 9 million people will pay more in road fund tax.....about a £1 a week more.....

But over 12million people will be paying the same or less........mine is £120 this year and I think £90 next year...so I am quite happy to be honest.

any thing that does less than 30 mpg should have a £1000 a year road tax on it

So 9 million people will pay more in road fund tax.....about a £1 a week more.....

But over 12million people will be paying the same or less........mine is £120 this year and I think £90 next year...so I am quite happy to be honest.

any thing that does less than 30 mpg should have a £1000 a year road tax on it

My Lupo did that....

How environmentally offensive is a little 1.4?

I'll be alright then!

I've just seen figures suggesting that maybe 17% of vehicles will pay less, and 43% will pay more.

We've been expecting you, Ken, since April!

I just dont understand why they dont get rid of road tax and just put it on fuel.

Stands to reason. Business man in his thirsty 4X4 pays more and my nan who does 5 miles a week shop in her 1.2 pays less.

Im sorry, thats sensible thinking.

Also, Blair ran this country for ten years, Brown has ran it for 10 minites, and has already managed to **** it up.

My boss told me today if work doesnt pick up within the next month, he'll have to halve the work force.

So pretty soon, i'll be signing on and sponging of the few people who still have there jobs.

I just dont understand why they dont get rid of road tax and just put it on fuel.

Stands to reason. Business man in his thirsty 4X4 pays more and my nan who does 5 miles a week shop in her 1.2 pays less.

Im sorry, thats sensible thinking.

Also, Blair ran this country for ten years, Brown has ran it for 10 minites, and has already managed to **** it up.

My boss told me today if work doesnt pick up within the next month, he'll have to halve the work force.

So pretty soon, i'll be signing on and sponging of the few people who still have there jobs.

Sorry to hear this, but don't think like that, at least you have paid into the system.

Sorry to hear this, but don't think like that, at least you have paid into the system.

As Octygone will testify, the dole office is a hostile place for us workers.

It's not easy for us to get the benefits! Been made redundant twice in the last 5 years during boom times, and both times the stress came from the DSS!

Also, Blair ran this country for ten years, Brown has ran it for 10 minites, and has already managed to **** it up.

That's not fair; Tory B Liar managed to quit 6 months before things that were going to go pear-shaped sooner or later (like US Sub-primes, the UK Housing bubble) did.

road tax should be based on the amount of emmissions kicked out at mot time. so if you have modded it and it kicks out loads you pay loads.

Or not based on CO2 at all... but perhaps on the SIZE of the car... after all it's ROAD TAX, so bigger cars use more ROAD, thus pay more

(Makes as much sense as CO2, imho... in that it's complete ********! )

A whopping £35 increase for me by 2010.

after all it's ROAD TAX

It's actually Vehicle Excise Duty...

:sofahide:

Rob.

or just buy a 7.5t and pollute the world and still only pay 160 quid for the priviledge.

You should include the weight of the vehicle in the tax amount since the damage done to the road by the vehicle is related to a power of 4 of the weight.

A 2 tonne car will do a lot more than double the damage of a 1 tonne car.

Interaction Between Heavy Vehicles ... - Google Book Search

Makes for interesting reading. Of course if the government were to follow what has been said in the book then they would have to have a huge VED on lorries. Not a problem as long as they make it a disk that all drivers have to have and not just british ones as that way the foreign lorries would also have to pay for the damage they do. The system works well in europe so I hear.

You should include the weight of the vehicle in the tax amount since the damage done to the road by the vehicle is related to a power of 4 of the weight.

A 2 tonne car will do a lot more than double the damage of a 1 tonne car.

Interaction Between Heavy Vehicles ... - Google Book Search

ISTR the basic function is proportional to the 4th power of the axle weight. So if we assign a 1t axle a "damage rating" of 1, a 2t axle has a rating of 16, a 3t one 81, a 10t one 10_000 :eek: !

I think it is really nice that people have actually bought the whole 'green 'thing.

Give it a few more years of cheeky tax rises whilst spouting rubbish to an easily suckered public ,makes me smile.

Like our local bus company,just painted the bus green and called it 'the green bus':rolleyes:

Oh well,carry on being suckered and analysing junk figures:)