Clause 15 - Cars registered on or after 1st March 2001: rates of duty
Finance Bill
9:45 am
Mr Michael Jack (Fylde, Conservative)
I regard the amendments as probing amendments that are designed to establish the logic behind the premium rate column in the table for vehicle excise duties in clause 15. The explanatory notes tell us that the clause principally amends the structure of the present arrangements for vehicle excise duty for cars first registered after 1 March 2001 to create
''a new low tax band for vehicles with emissions of 120 grammes of carbon dioxide per kilometre or less.''
I strongly applaud anything that encourages the improvement of automotive technology and reduces emissions, effectively making cars more environmentally friendly.
However, the thrust of the explanatory notes is to advise us that the principal objective of the clause is to reduce carbon dioxide emissions. It is interesting and slightly odd that the Treasury has decided, for reasons that I am sure it will explain, to discriminate in financial terms against the vehicle of choice given that carbon dioxide reduction is the principal objective even if the differential in the duty rate is only £10 between standard rate petrol vehicles and premium rate diesel vehicles.
I declare a personal interest: I drive a turbo-charged diesel Volkswagen and I have been assisted in producing some of the information that I shall put before the Committee by kind representations made to me by Delphi Automotive Systems, which makes the fuel injection equipment for, among others, Ford diesel cars.