IF YOUR car is a gas-guzzling beast which is pumping too much carbon dioxide into the atmosphere then it’s highly likely that your vehicle tax will be going up even higher in the Isle of Man.
Encouraging further reductions in CO2 emissions is at the centre of a statement issued by the Department of Infrastructure today (Tuesday) which has announced that there will be a review of the vehicle tax regime linked to a public consultation to obtain the views of the general public.
“Following the change to CO2 emissions-based charging on April 1st we are keen to hear the public’s views on how vehicle duty is determined and how they would like to see the system work in the future,” said Minister for Infrastructure Phil Gawne.
The Department’s aim when proposing changes to vehicle duty is to maintain the value of revenue derived from this duty which is set against the costs of road maintenance, funding road safety measures, recovering administration costs and, recently, encouraging the ownership of lower pollution vehicles.
A change to the charging policy for cars and vans was brought in on April 1st and duty is now determined by CO2 emissions rather than engine capacity for cars brought into the Island from that date.
Although CO2 emission data has been available from manufacturers for most cars built since 2000, until September 2008 it was not possible to include this information on the vehicle registration database.
It would be possible for vehicles registered on the Island after September 2008 to be subject to duty based on CO2 emissions instead of engine capacity, and this would mean a further 5000 vehicles could be brought into the new regime.
The purpose of the consultation is to enable the Department to obtain a general view of how vehicle duty should be determined in the future and if the introduction of charging by CO2 emissions should be accelerated.
The consultation documents are available on line on the Government’s consultation website http://www.gov.im/consultations.gov or copies may be obtained from the Department’s reception at the Sea Terminal Building, Douglas.
The consultation will continue until 5pm on Tuesday 7th September 2010.
Mr Gawne added, “The documentation is available on our website and I would urge any interested parties to visit the site and complete the questionnaire to help us gauge the views of road users.”
Simultaneously, a consultation is being held on vehicle duty charged for veteran vehicles. Mr Gawne added, “The increase in the veteran vehicle duty has been met with some resistance from local vintage vehicle owners and associations.
“As new Minister for Infrastructure I will honour the word of my predecessor and carry out a public consultation into how the duty is charged. We will use the feedback from the public to review the system and results will be made public after the consultation period.”
