Friday 12 December 2014
Environment Department response to media enquiry from Open Lines Column, Guernsey Press.
Open Lines Column Enquiry:
Dear Sir
You couldn't make it up. Only our island's politicians and their masters, the States Civil Service, could have dreamt up such a dog's dinner on vehicle first registration.
A width tax that exempts the very culprits that cause the problem i.e. the buses and large commercial vehicles that force us to mount pavements every day, coupled with a CO2 tax that encourages us to buy poisonous diesel vehicles, due to their slightly lower CO2 emissions, completely ignoring their impact on our health.
Diesel engines are very heavy polluters emitting large amounts of deadly tiny particulates that enter our lungs and cause cancer killing tens of thousands in the UK annually. They also produce enormous amounts of the dangerous nitrogen dioxide which attacks our respiratory systems.
If the States are really still intent on raising even more taxation from the Guernsey motorist then, perhaps, they could take an environmental lead by simply increasing the duty on diesel oil to discourage its use and persuade us to change to the vastly cleaner petrol alternative and make a significant improvement to our air quality?
Environment Department Response:
Thank you for providing the Department with an opportunity to respond to your correspondent's letter.
The concept of charging a first registration duty formed a key part of both the majority and minority Strategy reports but with differing degrees of emphasis on the level of charges that would be required in order to encourage smaller and cleaner vehicle purchasing decisions. Ultimately the States agreed to a banded First Registration Duty based on CO₂ emissions and vehicle widths that now finds itself embedded within a draft States Ordinance that was due to be considered by the States on 10th December.
Commercial vehicles have not been exempted from the duty but in recognition of the fact that certain larger commercial vehicles are restricted in terms of how narrow they can actually be, the States decided that they should only be subject to the CO₂ element of the charge and, following an amendment laid during the States debate, that the charge overall for these vehicles would be capped.
In the absence of an annual recurring tax to act as an ongoing disincentive, the aforementioned higher banded First Registration Duty was agreed. In terms of CO₂ these banding follow the same bandings criteria as used in the UK for annual vehicle registration taxes and have not therefore just been dreamt up.
Your correspondent's observations regarding the potentially more polluting effect of diesel engines is noted and was in fact highlighted within the minority report as being an area that might require further consideration in due course once additional research into this matter exists.
The proposals have been constructed in such a way as to exempt many makes and models of vehicle, including a significant number of family orientated vehicles, to be purchased without incurring any duty charges. When the Board shortly makes known its proposed changes to these rates following a period of further consultations with interested parties, there will be even more opportunities for people to acquire new or second hand vehicles without incurring any duty charges or where such a charge does still apply it could be at a lower rate than may have been the case before.
In order to influence change and to see the associated benefits that this will bring about as part of the Strategy requires investment and the proposed introduction of width and emissions duties is a key part of this process. This and other funding elements of the Strategy have been deliberately designed to both raise money for alternative transport measures and to effect behavioural change in a positive manner. In addition, they have been structured in such a way as to provide an opportunity for the vast majority of people to avoid these charges by making alternative choices.
Contact Information:
Karl Guille, Traffic and Transport Services Manager
Environment Department
Tel: 243400
