Guernsey Press

Motor tax comeback plan 'hypocritical'

REINTRODUCING the unpopular motor tax would be hypocritical given the 'user pays' policy, a deputy behind the scrapping of the tax just under 10 years ago has said.

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Deputy Lyndon Trott, who was Treasury minister when the department brought proposals to scrap the tax in favour of fuel duty in 2006, has criticised the current board's sursis to have it re-examined to plug a £1.6m. funding gap in the transport strategy.

'I thought I'd seen it all with this government. Wishing to plough ahead with extremely unpopular new taxes is one thing, but now it seems that isn't sufficient. Why do I say this? Well, an annual motor tax was a really unpopular tax replaced by a user pays principle through a tax on fuel,' he said.

'The sensible thing to do is to ensure a complete rethink that focuses on a set of policies that are not hypocritical of the overall objective. What's happened to the user pays policy?'

Sarnia Car Club member Rob Stanford, pictured, said the motor tax would inevitably turn into just another way to milk the motorist.

'It doesn't bode well for people who only use their car a couple of times a month. I have a work van so use my car very little, but I would be subject to paying as much as someone who uses theirs every day,' he said.

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