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New car buyers have been hit with an extraordinary hike of up to 2,475%, when taxing a car bought after 1 April, 2017.
The revised Vehicle Excise Duty (VED) tax bands, which kicked in on 1 April 1, have meant that an incredible seven out of 10 UK drivers could face massive increases in their car tax.
The new legislation will now mean that only the ultra-green zero-emissions cars with a price tag of under £40,000 will be tax free.
Even some of the most environmentally friendly hybrid cars are likely to take a harsh tax hike, leaving some to question the validity of this change.
Nonetheless, it has happened and as a result the UK has seen a record breaking month for cars sales in the month of March, as owners rushed to buy ahead of the increase.
The £1,000 rise in the three-year tax bill will include an emissions-based £150 tariff for the first year with two successive payments of £140 per year for a hybrid flat rate applying to all cars with over 0 gCO2/km emissions.
Owners of vehicles valued at over £40,000 will also then face a further £310 per year up to the sixth year.
Even more surprisingly, some of the most popular car models will see hikes of between £400-£1000, dependant on which vehicle type you go for. These familiar names include family favourite – the Ford Focus, the Audi A3, the BMW 3-series, the Nissan Qashqai and the Mercedes C-class.
Although, these new tax laws are designed to encourage car owners to opt for a zero emissions vehicle, it does hammer some of the most popular cars on UK roads.
On a positive note, these changes in tax will not affect owners with cars already on the road and some grants will be available, from the Office of Low Emission Vehicles, for plug-in hybrids, provided your vehicle meets certain conditions.
The Audi, Mitsubishi and Volvo will also remain eligible for a government grant of £2,500 due to their low CO2 emissions of less than 75g/km.
Andrew King is Purchasing Manager at www.sellyourjamjar.co.uk the UK’s first online car buying and scrap car service, established in 1999.