car tax

Did i hear right that the bloody goverment are putting car tax up. what
was said on 10pm news.i wish some one would bomb that waste of space .

 

Where've you been Chris, they've been arguing the toss over this for some
weeks. They are applying an emissions tax of some description that will
not only apply to new cars but previously registered ones as well. The
good news from my point of view and yours is that it is based on the
manufacturers emisions figures that had to be quoted in vehicle log books
from 2001 onwards. Our cars are pre 2001 and fall outside this scheme.
However Mr Darling (or more precisely his puppetmaster - Mr Brown) could
well decide to slap something on us as well.

 

I have not been watching the t,v or had the radio on,been working hard
after having that double hernia op catching up with the back log, might
get it done by sunday this week then i can work on my own car fit a new
wish bone arm,and all the filters and oil.

 

Hi,

They are discussing that in France too, with a brand new tax for vehicles
over a certain amount of CO2, which would only apply to new cars.
I don't know about the UK, but here they seem very concerned by CO2
emissions. The good point is the older cars are not concerned.
Personnallly, as my 206 is rated just at 120g/km, it wouldn't cause me that
much trouble... My (good, old, beloved, regretted - strikeout any) 205
should be just above, if you keep in mind this kind of emission is a
constant given on the amount of fuel needed.
The aim of the french project ('cause that only seems to be a project yet)
is to give some huge extra tax on the awful fuel-eater cars as 4x4 (which
are useless in cities, and that's a terrific number of these you see in
plain cities or roads, like around Paris. I don't talk about the mountains,
where this kind of vehicles are needed).

Regards,

 

Bloody hell Chris, you seem to spend half your life fixing your car, must be
getting near time you got rid of it.

 

Over here in England those urban 4x4s have become known as Chelsea Tractors.

 

Hi,

Tractors.
Excellent !
No such nickname here AFAIK. We just say "it must be great to climb
pavements".
I've heard some years ago (I'd say 2-3 yrs) there was a group of people
covering them in mud, in some sign of wrath against these useless vehicles.

Regards,

 

A big advantage of the French number plate system is that I understand
the vehicle has to be registered in the department where the owner
lives. This allows taxation of big thirsty 4x4s to be higher in the
cities than in the rural/mountainous areas where they needed far more.
Whether the French Govt. will be brave enough to introduce this to a
country that currently has no road tax equivalent remains to be seen.


Bob

 

No other peoples cars. and i got a little job todo on mine,well
one job wish bone.i have to take it very easy due to the hernia op that
i had not long ago.

 

Hi,

True (even if the current system is due to disappear next year or in 2010
with "vehicle lifetime plates), it will remain necessary to register it in
the owner's area.

This may be an idea, I agree. But outside of Paris / Paris's area, almost
every area has a rural zone where you could justify the ownership of a
all-terrain vehicle.

Errr, being brave isn't an option anymore (and I regret it).
There was a road tax equivalent up to 2002, called "vignette". You had to
pay once per year according to the "fiscal power" (I don't know if there's a
similar system in UK, I'll try to explain) of your vehicle.

So there was the fiscal power. It still exists, BTW, but far less important
now, IMO. It was, depending on years, calculated with a fixed ratio x engine
capacity (with result being rounded), the bigger the higher. It was the way
it worked until 1978.
By 1979, it was calculated according to the (be careful it's complex, even
if we're dealing with real numbers ;-) ) vehicle's average speed on every
gear ratio and another factor I forgot. This was pretty nice for Diesel
cars, not for petrol automatic gearboxes. Well...

Then in 1998 it was changed to another formula, achtung baby, it's the most
complex :
Pa = (CO2/45) + (P/40)^1.6
with Pa being the fiscal power (also called administrative power), CO2 the
gCO2/km, P the max power (DIN, kW).

So, without the vignette, this figure is only used to pay the registration
certificate.

Oh, it seems that the urban 4x4 market is struggling due to the petrol
price.

Regards,

 

Phew! I did not realise it got that complex!

My French friend (actually a Belgian) has 3 Citroen 2cvs and one Belgian
numberplate, no controle technique and no insurance! He lives in a self
built stone house he built himself without permission and works on the
black for local farmers. We know him as Eric the eco warrior for his
'back to basics' lifestyle. All the locals know him including the Marie
and he still seems to get away with it all.

 

Hi,

Eeeer a mean guy doesn't care on how it's calculated, and he doesn't need to
know the value, excepted at the moment he'll pay for the reg card.
I have to admit that, with the "road tax" which disappeard in 2001 (2002 for
company cars), that's not a crucial question anymore - you only pay once for
the reg card. This administrative power may be used to calculate the
insurrance tax, too... but that's far too complex.
Mind you I still don't understand why my 206's insurrance is cheaper than my
205's (same company, same location, same covered damages) by £20/year or so.
It's more powerful, more recent, more everything, still...

AFAIK, the Belgian plating model is slightly diffrerent, with a "driver's
lifetime plate", ie you get one platenumber at the first time, and you keep
it on any car you own. In France, with the system used these days, a
platenumber is attached to a car AND an area. For example, my 206 had a
plate at the first time (8335 GF 2A) which changed when my parents have
bought it (8466 SL 89) as they aren't living in the same zone.

Oh BTW : in Belgium, for a long time, you even didn't need a driving license
to drive. And from a workmate whose son lives in Belgium, the license is
damn cheap and easy to take.

Another case : you live in a zone. You buy a used car registered in the same
zone. You don't change the plates. That's the reason why my parent's 405
kept the same platenumber during all of its lifetime, during 20 years (2556
QK 89) although being bought as a used car by my father (used but as new,
with a bit less than 1 year and 15,000km).

Eeeer yeah. I guess we also have some of them here, in France. I don't know
Belgian rules & laws, but he may be breaking some laws there.
From my personal opinions, as long as it doesn't hurt anyone, why care ?

Regards,