If tax is the stick, where’s the carrot?
03 June 2008
Is the Government as green as it wants us to think? To change our car driving behaviour it taxes motorists, but where are the tax breaks that will also make us change our ways?
Think everyone is suffering from rising oil prices? There is one winner, the Treasury. At the last budget, oil was $84 a barrel. Alistair Darling based his calculations for fuel duty on that figure. Now it is $110 a barrel. This differential works out at 9p a litre, so Darling could reduce duty by 9p a litre and be no worse off than he expected to be. Instead, he continues to tap this source of income, taxing motorists twice as much as is spent on road maintenance and repair. Villainous road users bring in five times the revenue raised in alcohol tax.
Another ruse is the proposed increase in vehicle excise duty. This could double to £440 a year if Darling does not heed the warnings of the public and 42 of his own party’s MPs. If you buy a new, gas-guzzling car, you will be in the highest tax bracket. Fair enough, inefficient cars should be discouraged. If you think that you will be safeguarded because you are not so irresponsible as to buy a car that does 12MPG, you won’t be feeling smug for long. The Government has moved from stealth taxes to retrospective ones! Darling wants to remove the exemptions of older cars to punish their owners for emissions-crimes. So what car to buy if you can’t get to work on the cruddy public transport system that is priced at inflation-busting levels, is over-crowded, runs late, is delayed or cancelled if it runs in your area anyway? When asked last week, Business Secretary, John Hutton said the answer is to sell your car. Rubbish advice if you are a shift worker; unfortunately the revenue from petrol tax is not spent on providing trains that run past midnight or before 5am.
While goodness is its own reward, a nice warm glow inside from saving CO2 emissions is clearly not enough to push people into action. How about discounts for fuel-efficient cars? How about reducing road tax for them? How about equalising the cost of diesel? What about tax breaks on diesel cars, which are more efficient? Right now there is at least a £1,000 premium on a diesel model over a petrol model. How about R&D for British companies to research workable biofuel production or fuel cell technology?
It seems that it is down to me to show the way! Electronic Product Design’s e-Legacy Awards promote companies and business practices that contribute to the green challenge we are facing. They may not reduce your tax bill, but they positively promote and encourage lowering carbon footprint, maximising fuel and energy efficiency and show how responsible environmental design can be done. All of which can save money on fuel bills and in added-value sales. And not a hairshirt in sight.
The e-Legacy Awards also pick up the ball, long dropped by the Government, for educating schoolchildren and university graduates. The Investment in Education looks at realistic ways to introduce them to and encourage learning at a higher level in electronics engineering. As opposed to introducing student loans, the Education Awards looks at contributions from the electronics industry. The e-Legacy Awards also fills the void left by the scrapping of the apprenticeship schemes, with The Investment in Training Award.
As for healthcare, don’t get me started on how many hospitals can be built with the $4billion extra revenue the Government is enjoying from these oil price hikes! Instead, one is to be closed near my home, forcing young and old to travel further to one nowhere near a bus stop or train station – but with plenty of hugely-expensive car parking on the grounds. Instead, I will concentrate on The Medical Advances category in The e-Legacy Awards. This is where electronics design can free patients from hospital visits or help them self-diagnose to avoid them altogether, creating less demand on NHS resources.
And finally, law and order. Again, the Government has broken an election pledge to be “tough on crime, tough on the causes of crime”. While it introduces ASBOs, The e-Legacy Awards introduces design ideas that improve surveillance for homes and communities. The Contribution to Security Award promotes sound electronic design that protects our children when they are out, aids emergency services and protects citizens.
Maybe I should see if Gordon Brown would like to come along to The e-Legacy Awards Luncheon at The Roof Gardens on Thursday 11 September 2008. Then again, he may be too busy - job-hunting!
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