PROPOSED INCREASE OF MOTOR TAX IN ENGLAND.

Manawatu Herald, Volume XLII, Issue 2124, 6 May 1920, Page 4

PROPOSED INCREASE OF MOTOR TAX IN ENGLAND.

• The proposal of the Advisory Committee to the British Government to raise further revenue by increasing the motor car tax in England has created great consternation amongst the non-wealthy class of motorists in the Old Country. Up to the present English motorists have paid an annual tax based on horse-power, ranging from about £3 3s on small powered vehicles up to £2l on a Rolls-Royce. For revenue purposes it is now proposed in England to adopt a new system of basing car taxation, viz., £1 per annum per horse-power. To say that an outcry has resulted in England is to put it mildly.. Consternation at the grave injustice of the proposal is rank, right throughout the army of motorists in Groat, Britain. If adopted if would mean that a Ford, owner would have to pay an annua! tax of £23. Such a tax would hit the small car owner hardest, the little runabouts having to pay from £!) to £ll yearly, whilst a Talbot would pay £26, a Vanxhall £23, and a Rolls-Royce £-19. The mat for lias been taken .up by the various Vulomohile Associations in England, who point out that the imposition of such an outrageous tax will mean a tremendous set-back to motoring in the Old Country, and to the English manufacturer. A big effort is being made to have a more equitable system of taxation adopted, such as on petrol, which would mean that the further a motorist travels the more he 'pays. Plus would he infinitely fairer limn inlying a lump sum yearly based on horse-power.