Good news from the UK

[marku]

Just been informed that from next April the 450 will be exempt from Road Tax here. It goes by age but it is a relief as the government here increases it every year and it varies by emissions. Older cars just get the annual increase on the original tax but new cars are rated much higher. The Mercedes Viano we have currently is £540 and a newish S-class £1300. Have a friend that recently bought a VW Golf GTI and the tax on that is £20 so perhaps there is something to what VW is accused of.

[ptashek]

Just been informed that from next April the 450 will be exempt from Road Tax here. It goes by age but it is a relief as the government here increases it every year and it varies by emissions. Older cars just get the annual increase on the original tax but new cars are rated much higher. The Mercedes Viano we have currently is £540 and a newish S-class £1300. Have a friend that recently bought a VW Golf GTI and the tax on that is £20 so perhaps there is something to what VW is accused of.

Interesting. I thought you folks have the same system as Ireland does,  which is basically a flat rate for cars older than 30 years.
What's the exemption based on?

[marku]

Every car starts with a rate when new and then is subject to an annual increase. The 116 started with its rate in 74 and then with increments up to the recent £220 mark. When they brought in the emission based rate  a new rate was levied on existing production and when bought. For example our first 2004 Viano had got to £210 by 2006. When we bought our 2006 Viano, same engine, the new rate for it was £410. It is now £540 and the annual rise is increasing even with inflation here being zero. Another nice little tax earner for the government disguised as combatting climate change.

As far as the exemption goes it is purely age of the car.

[W116-M117]

IMHO, governments sometimes try to justify a mere money request by noble purposes. But sometimes it's a mistake for their cash flow.

In the period 2000 to 2014, cars over 20 years old paid only Euro 28.50 per year in Italy. On 2015, an abrupt change: limit is now 30 years.

No problem for my 1973 450SE, but the impact was big for my 1990 300E, which increased from 28.50 to 518.30 Euro: about 20 times the original tax. Considering that in Italy the tax is not a road tax, but it's an owner tax: it must be paid only because you own the car, even if you do not use it on the road.

Impact? Probably, the government earned less money after this choice: most of enthusiasts gave back car plates (owner tax is linked to the car plate) waiting for better times. Or they sold the car to foreign enthusiasts: it's quite common, for example, to see German guys travelling to Italy to buy cars (especially German built cars) which are in better condition because the climate conditions of my Country. Also, all those cars which are not yet running on the road,imply less work for the car workshop, then less earning, then less VAT for the government cash.

[marku]

It seems every government is constantly looking for ways of raising more revenue. The road tax here is loaded on to the higher emission vehicles while lower ones pay next to nothing. At least here you can officially take a car off the road and pay no tax until you want to put it back on.

[gavin116]

Hi Mark


Your post prompted me to look on the internet about classic vehicle tax.  Looks like the government has indeed moved the date forward from 1972 to a new later date of 1 January 1975.  Sadly Mrs W is a Sep '79 so I guess I'll have to wait another 15 years before they change the date again...

[Type17]

Hi Mark


Your post prompted me to look on the internet about classic vehicle tax.  Looks like the government has indeed moved the date forward from 1972 to a new later date of 1 January 1975.  Sadly Mrs W is a Sep '79 so I guess I'll have to wait another 15 years before they change the date again...

The new UK system appears to be a rolling 40-year exemption so, according to the link below, a '79 car will become exempt on 1st April 2020 (1st April = beginning of UK tax year), which is less than 5 years away.


http://www.heritage-motor-centre.co.uk/the-archive/gettingyourclassiccartaxedandregistered/#1.1

[gavin116]

Hi Type 17

Good link that, I didn't realise it is rolling on a 40 year interval (used to roll at a 25 year interval, then it suddenly stopped ).  When does your's become tax exempt, or are the rules different in Ireland?

[Type17]

Ireland has a rolling 30-year Vintage/Veteran tax class, where the tax drops to €56 per year on the anniversary of first registration.


My 116 was registered in November '76 (he was 39 last week!), so has always been in this tax class during my ownership, but if a car over 2,999cc is under 30 years old, the tax is €1809 (about stg£1,270) - owners of '86 W126's are getting excited around now...


PS: If you own a post 2008 car here, the tax is based on Co2 per km, which is a lot cheaper for most cars, but for cars with high emissions, such as petrol Subarus and all Rolls-Royces, the tax is €2,350 per year.

[marku]

And I thought we were hard done to. That really is extortionate. I seem to remember that at a certain age here some cars are exempt from the MOT as well.

[Type17]

And I thought we were hard done to. That really is extortionate. I seem to remember that at a certain age here some cars are exempt from the MOT as well.

...if you thought that was bad, have a look at VRT (Vehicle Registration Tax) See summary below*
Regarding testing in the UK, vehicles made before 1st Jan 1960 are now MOT-exempt.
Neither country's test exemption is a rolling date.

In Ireland, vehicles first registered before 1st Jan 1980 are NCT-exempt (NCT = National Car Test, covering similar aspects to the UK MOT test).


*To replace Excise Duty in 1992 (which had to go as the European Single Market was introduced), the Irish Government introduced a tax on registering a vehicle (new or used import) - the amount is based on the Open Market Selling Price. VRT is borderline illegal (the EU wants Ireland to get rid of it, but has lost court cases on technicalities) because it is a tax based on the OMSP, which includes another tax (VAT) and VRT itself(!).

[ptashek]

At least for classics VRT is charged at a 200EUR flat rate. It makes it more bareable.