PRESS RELEASE
POSSESSION TAX REARS ITS UGLY HEAD AGAIN!
DVLA’s
Consultation on Fee Proposals, issued in August, sees a return to the
discredited attempts of the early I980s and mid 1990, to make
motorists pay an annual fee even if keeping their vehicles off the
road.
This grossly unfair proposal is one of several contained in the
consultation whose theme is that an “annual registration charge” should be collected at tax disc renewal
or SORN declaration to subsidize the costs of
first registration of new vehicles as well as the costs of issuing /
replacing driving licences for individuals The proposals suggest that first licences for those
under 21 should be free of charge.
The level of the fees proposed in DVLA’s “preferred option” is £4.50
per VED or SORN transaction, collecting over £155 million extra
revenue from vehicle owners, without it appearing to be an increase in
taxation. Once authorised, this would be a fee set by DVLA and not
subject to annual parliamentary scrutiny in the budget: how long would
it be before the £4.50 rose to £10, or £20?
FBHVC Chairman, Andrew Burt, commented “The proposal affects all
motorists, but the suggestion that there will now be a charge for
obtaining a nil-rate VED tax disc for pre-1973 vehicles, and a charge
to make an annual SORN declaration will hit the historic vehicle
movement particularly hard. We have already raised our concerns with
the Parliamentary Historic Vehicles Club and will be making our view
very clear both to DVLA and the Department for Transport.”
FBHVC Is campaigning to oppose the proposals and invites enthusiasts
at the international
Classic Motor Show at I~EC (October 22-23-24) to visit stand 20700 to
sign a petition.
Background for Editors:
The full consultation can be found at http//www.dvla.gov.uk/public/consult/driver_fee/df_summary.htm
In
the early 1980s, a proposal to make all vehicle owners keep all their
vehicles licenscd continuously, whether they were in use or not, was
defeated by a concerted campaign led by the Historic Vehicle Clubs
Committee and the Classic Vehicle Clubs Committee.
These two organisations merged into the Federation of British Historic
Vehicle Clubs in 1988. FBHVC has 350 subscriber clubs and represents
over quarter of a million historic vehicle enthusiasts. The historic
vehicle movement in UK is estimated to be worth over £2 billion per
year to the national economy.
Continuous taxation proposals re-appeared in 1995, and again
were defeated by a campaign led by FBHVC. The ideas that came out of
that consultation, however, led to the creation of the Statutory Off
Road Notification system FBHVC has no objection to SORN, providing it
remains free of charge.
14 September 2004
For further information, contact Jim Whyman, the secretary, as below.
President:- Lord Montagu of Beaulieu
Chairman:- A. Butt Secretary:- P.H.J. Whyman.
Kernshill, Shute
Street, Stogumbe, Taunton. TA4 3TU. (Registered Office)
Tel: 01984 656995
Fax: 01984 656762 E-mail: admin@fbhvc.co.uk
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