All sales will be affected

Like many islanders, I could be accused of not 'engaging' with the politicians over many of the important changes taking place in Guernsey.

I would respond by saying that I spend long days working hard running a business to pay my way and put my trust in the elected government to do what is best for us all. That is what they signed up for and are paid to do. Unfortunately, some of them have lost touch with the world the rest of us live in, and this is the result.

From a crippling pension scheme which should have been closed to new beneficiaries as soon as the massive liability came to light, to paid parking, which will take £1,000-plus p/a out of the economy for every person who works in Town, the first registration tax is just the final straw for the working public, many of whom have not had the good fortune of a wage increase for some years.

I do not sell new motor cars as some of my colleagues do but wish to add my support, as the proposed taxes will have an effect on every car owner on this island.

Penalising the registration of newer and more efficient cars of any size is flawed if the aim is to encourage cleaner emissions.

Don't be fooled: if the first-registration charges for new and used cars goes through, so will the cost of every other car on the road. The rising cost to change will filter right down the market to the cheapest for sale.

While our own business will benefit from an ageing car market, for that is what we will have, the cost of ownership will get higher as repairs rather than just servicing will become a greater part of your annual bill.

Don't kid yourselves that if it goes through, it will end there. If there is a genuine desire to reduce emissions, then the next step will be to impose an MOT to get rid of the older cars that can't comply, so if you can't afford a newer car you, will be driven off the road with your old one.

With a reduction in new-car sales, there will be a shortage of used cars. Importing a good second-hand car will be proportionally more expensive due to registration tax, so don't say you haven't been warned.

Like a number of our deputies, I am old enough not to have the school run to deal with and I am fortunate to work close to where I live. However, the majority of people on the island have to deliver children to schools which are no longer in their parish (or will have to shortly as the schools are centralised), get to work in Town or across the island, often at unsocial hours, and buy food in shops that are not within walking distance of their homes.

For those with the energy, there are social activities, which on present form you will have to leave home an hour early for and finish early if you are to use the bus as transport.

These will all be exceptions, which our politicians say are acceptable times to use the car, so when is the average person going to use the bus?

I think our deputies are dreaming of a time on this island around 45 years ago, when there was a school in every parish, corner shops abounded, many people worked in or near their homes and there was a bus every 15 minutes passing the Bailiff's Cross.

The politicians in favour of these policies cannot possibly believe that, even with the best bus service possible, people can do without a car to make daily essential journeys.

If they accept that is the case, then they are purely imposing another tax to pay for a service that most of these people could not possibly benefit from, let's just call it that.

Let your deputy know what you think of these proposals and get them kicked out – not an adjournment till a date when they can be slipped through once the dust has settled.

And while I am on my soap box... On the subject of paid parking, which will bang another nail into the Town's coffin, perhaps putting casual shoppers off, but it will definitely reduce individual spending power of Town workers by £1,000 per year.

I suggest that, if it is such a great thing for us all, we conduct an experiment, charging every deputy and civil servant the proposed going rate for every time they park on States land for a period of six months, just to see if it changes their driving habits, or perhaps they will all take their chances on the buses. Then we can ask them to vote on it with the benefit of hindsight.

If paid parking has to go ahead, then all States land should be chargeable in the whole St Peter Port area, including Sir Charles Frossard House, for every single person that parks there and let absolutely everyone pay the going rate, no special circumstances for deputies who have a reserved space at reduced cost to attend States meetings, no personal parking for States employees, let them all take their chances and pay their way like everyone else. Then let us see how long it is before they ask for a pay increase to cover the extra cost of working in Town, or will that be lost in expenses?

Wake up and contact your deputy. Meet us on the court steps today and let them know.

MARK SAUVARIN,

Rohais Motor Centre.