Sam Glover's 40 yr tax exemption petition

[dieselnutjob]

I know that there have been loads of epetitions about rolling classic car tax exemptions, but I think that this one is worth signing. So please go to

 

http://epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/49330

 

why is worth signing?

 

Because this got a whole page in this months Practical Classics which has how many readers...

 

Because 40 years is realistic as it will hardly cost the government anything as there are so few 1974 cars with tax discs.

 

Because it looks like the government is was already convinced enough to do a one off one year extension this year so it looks like something that they might want to do anyway.

 

 

 

[catsinthewelder]

Duly signed,  as the long term owner of a 1974 vehicle I'd best show willing.

[ayrshirelad]

Signed it too Sam. All of mine are post 74.

[trigger]

I signed it a few months back, I doubt it will get listened to but there's no harm in signing.

 

[Morgan84]

It's long overdue them updating the age requirements for tax exemption

[RichardMoss]

Signed - again

[pandamonium]

Done, for all the good it will do....

[worldofceri]

Dare I say it, this issue is possibly the best reason to vote Conservative.  I reckon they're the only party that would go for it.

[Wilko220]

I for one am very glad that we can have yet another thread/debate about this issue on Autoshite. It must be at least three months since the last one!

[dieselnutjob]

I have also seen the various petitions asking for the return of 25 years rolling tax exemption.  The thing is that this is a totally unrealistic ask because it would see the government loosing 15 years span of tax disc income.  This is the first petition that is asking for something realistic, and it has the backing of Practical Classics.

 

I think I might write to my MP as well.  If enough of us do this then maybe it will happen.

[Mash]

It's a good idea to start with a rolling extension of next year's plan to give 1973 cars the exemption but I seem to recall reading that the reason they'd only gone for this date is that there is a sharp rise in surviving numbers of vehicles post-1974 and that revenue would be hit too hard to extend it past that date.  Can anyone prove or disprove this?

[dollywobbler]

It could be successfully argued that the biggest reason for the loss of tax revenue is because they keep giving new 'clean' cars free or cheap road tax. Pisses me off something mighty that the cars I like cost over £220 a year to tax, but some resource-munching new motor might be free or £35 a year. 

 

I have signed the petition. It makes a lot of sense. However, I don't care if the Tories are the most likely party to agree to it, I'd still rather vote for an inflatable monkey.

[dieselnutjob]

It's a good idea to start with a rolling extension of next year's plan to give 1973 cars the exemption but I seem to recall reading that the reason they'd only gone for this date is that there is a sharp rise in surviving numbers of vehicles post-1974 and that revenue would be hit too hard to extend it past that date.  Can anyone prove or disprove this?

I guess that the stats will be buried somewhere in the howmanyleft website

[dieselnutjob]

or here

https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/department-for-transport/series/vehicle-licensing-statistics

[Conrad D. Conelrad]

It's a good idea to start with a rolling extension of next year's plan to give 1973 cars the exemption but I seem to recall reading that the reason they'd only gone for this date is that there is a sharp rise in surviving numbers of vehicles post-1974 and that revenue would be hit too hard to extend it past that date.  Can anyone prove or disprove this?

 

A while ago there was an interview with Lord Montagu in one of the classic car magazines (Classics, I think) where he claims that was the reason for the 1973 cutoff. That was bandied about online a lot, so probably where it originated. 

 

If there is a sharp drop off after 40 years, I can't imagine why. It's not like anyone's buying a 30+ year old car to use as their daily just because it's cheap. 

[AnthonyG]

There might have been quite a few 1973/4/5 cars around in 1998, when it stopped rolling forward, they'll be a lot less now.

But the conservatives are the only party ever likely to be sympathetic to this

[Wilko220]

The thing is, nobody "went for" a 1973 cut-off date. It was designed (under the Major government) as a rolling programme of cars becoming exempt at 25-years-old. When the Labour govt came in in 1997 they abolished the rolling aspect of the policy and it just so happened that 1973 was "25 years ago" at that point. I think people are reading more into it than there really is.