A chance to bring back tax exemption!

[spencev6]

Hi all,
I'm new to this forum but in no way new to classics, i have a 66 land rover 2a, an 83 porsche 924 and an 86 BMW 318i.
Anyway you may have heard the government has changed how it handles online petitions. Now if a petition gets 100,000 signatures it is referred to the back bench and can then possibly be discussed in parliament.
The link below is to petition for the return of rolling tax exemption, I've taken it upon myself to try and get as many signatures as possible, it only takes a minute to do. If you felt like putting it on any other forums you frequent, or even your facebook (facewhat?) thats would be brilliant!

100,000 is a long way away but it can't be impossible!

http://epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/183

Thanks

[JPB]

These are not cars which are driven everyday but rather on sunny weekends

It's sweeping generalisations like that which do classic owners and enthusiasts no favours at all and is likely to lead - at best - to a concession for cars that only go to shows or are otherwise not in regular use, such as that enjoyed by enthusiasts in Australia and Germany to name but two places. In that case why not tax it for limited agricultural usage? That costs nothing and you don't even need to own a farm to get away with it. ISTR that currently, that allows journeys of 6 miles or less to be covered on public roads.

[rich.]

i dont think they will change the law at the moment with the economy struggling to recover.

[spencev6]

Thats all a bit negative!

Surely it would be easier just to set a date for exemption, as setting up and checking any other criteria would cost them, after all thats all that happened the first time round. Even if they do put up some criteria they can't force you to change your current tax class and if you don't qualify it isn't going to cost you any more.

Also the Tory's said they would re introduce it if they got in, although they are currently waffling on about their inherited debt. But who knows this could help as a push to hold up their promise

But mainly its free to do and takes no time at all!

[OneCarefulOwner]

[quote="JPBISTR that currently, that allows journeys of 6 miles or less to be covered on public roads.[/quote]
Well, that'd let me attend one show a year... Wow.

[tractorman]

Just a note about "Agricultural Machine" and limited use taxation (as suggested by JPB)

From the DVLA website:

Limited use vehicles

You can tax your vehicle in the ‘limited use’ tax class if it’s used solely for purposes relating to agriculture, horticulture or forestry and:
•it’s used on public roads only in passing between different areas of land occupied by the same person
•the distance it travels on public roads in passing between any two such areas does not exceed 1.5 kilometres

___________
These would normally include Land Rovers etc that would normally be used in fields (rather than tractors, combines etc) and is the category a car might fall into - many cars were converted to work on the land between the wars and I know some farmers who use old Subarus etc while checking sheep ( I suspect the cars wouldn't pass an MOT, so wouldn't be taxed anyway!)

There was a bit of an uproar last year after the rules relating to red diesel were cleared up (myths dispelled etc), which resulted in one or two extra concessions - eg Ag machines could be taken to shows if they were not getting a reward for so doing. This was because the dear old Customs and Excise/VOSA were parking up at shows, ploughing matches and road runs, dipping tanks and fining people running on red diesel and "incorrect" VED - even though the machines were only delivering straw bales for seating and that sort of thing. Remember, "Classic" in tractor terms is anything over 20 years old and not some vague definition that car owners use I know many 20 year old tractors that still work on farms (probably more than are restored), so they are still "Ag Machines" and run on red diesel

Some farmers had been using JCB Fastracs to take cattle to market (some doing 20 miles or more each way) as red diesel was so much cheaper than white and "free" tax, making haulage costs much less. However, as a result, they are more interested in taxation than they were - and incorrect use of the "free" Ag machine classification.

That's the main reason my two diesel tractors are "Historic Vehicles" and run on white diesel! The rules are slightly more relaxed for tractors etc, but you still need agricultural use - so you can't "pop to the shops" or drive a tractor home after work!

Otherwise, back to the topic - I doubt changing the year would be free and would certainly reduce the government's income. While I commend OP for setting up a petition, I fear the equine has died, so there's little point in hitting it anymore!

[maph2]

this topic has been discussed to death. any govt will not be moving the tax exemption date. reviews have been done....the dvla cannot afford too.

[Martin Evans]

this topic has been discussed to death. any govt will not be moving the tax exemption date. reviews have been done....the dvla cannot afford too.

As I said, on the last occasion when we discussed this,

Having corresponded at length with the governments of Blair & Brown, I concluded that the reason the rolling tax was frozen, was down to a personal whim on the part of Gordon Brown.

The reason now given, for the freeze being maintained, is the state of government finances. I have raised the issue of the owners of cars like, for example, 3 Series BMWs getting away with £20 per annum; surely this is giving away far more than extending the historic concession. However, I suspect there are more voters with cars in that tax band, than have post 1972 classics.

It is pretty clear that the pre 2001 tax band (Particularly the over 1549cc part of it) is a punitive band. It pre supposes that all cars in said band are bangers and I should imagine that some of the newer cars in it are bangers. Whether the government are justified in taxing these cars off the road, is not the issue here (Though there is strong evidence that making cars last longer is better for the environment, than a regular cycle of short life vehicles). However, if that is the objective, then genuine historic (Classics if you like but please lets not get hung up on that) vehicles should be classed as such and not penalised.

I can say that in the dealings I have had with members of the present administration, the attitude is more apologetic than dismissive. There a faint glow of light at the far end of a very long tunnel, whereas when Brown was in charge, all you got when, you destroyed one spurious “Reason” was another one on which to work. Let’s hope that before the next election, the date is moved forward from 1973, even if it isn’t set as a rolling date. My own view is that an exemption based on age should be rolling but that in the absence of this, a cut off at the end of old “Y” reg would pretty well tie things up (I think most of the cars, that people keep as classics, are pre new “A” reg – for example the TR7 was dropped at the end of 1981 and I think there are more preserved Cortinas and Marinas, than Sierras and Montegos).

If any movement is to be obtained on this, it will be via behind the scenes activity. There are people on the government benches who are on our side. Rather than create a big splash, I feel we should give these quiet string pullers a chance.

[maph2]

if any chnage oocurs, it will mostly likely try to bring the UK in line with other EU countries, eg France. I don't favour that!

[rich.]

if any chnage oocurs, it will mostly likely try to bring the UK in line with other EU countries, eg France. I don't favour that!

why? we have mot every 2 years, no road tax, & cheaper car insurance...empty roads wines not bad either