This Is Guernsey

By Jess Stevenson

MOTOR traders want emissions testing introduced if environmental taxes are brought in.

Guernsey Motor Trades Association chairman Mike Wager (pictured) said that if the Environment Department was serious about bringing in taxes to discourage people from buying and using high emission vehicles, it would need a system to check emissions.

‘The GMTA has pushed for emission testing on vehicles for about 13 years. We should be looking at the environmental impact that vehicles have on the island, but we should not be taxing people for using their cars,’ he said.

‘They are taxed already. We had road tax which was replaced with a tax on fuel and that has worked well – the polluter pays.’

But further taxes were wrong, he said.

Environment is asking islanders what they think of using taxes to force people into greener cars and lorries.

‘For me, there should be no additional tax burden on the everyday motorist – an added tax would not be acceptable.’

Mr Wager said that a suggested first registration fee, which could see motorists charged up to £2,000 depending on the amount of carbon dioxide emitted, would not prevent people buying powerful cars.

‘What would happen to the fee and where would it go? With the States the way they are – would it just be a way of raising money?’

Le Mont Saint Garage owner Dave Beausire sells new and used cars.

Speaking about a possible 50p per litre green tax on fuel, he said: ‘The polluter already pays. I don’t see it as an environmental tax.

‘It will encourage people to run their cars longer and if they are buying an expensive car it will not affect sales.’

Mr Beausire said charging people more for cars with high emissions, would penalise families with several children.

‘You can’t buy a small car if you have three or four kids. The department will be basically taxing larger families.

‘And if they are talking about 50p per litre, the cost of everything will go up,’ he said.

Mr Beausire said the hypothetical policies were aimed at getting people out of their cars and onto the public transport system, but the island did not have one that could cope.

nÊFive possible policies have been put forward by Environment in its consultation paper for a tax to cut carbon emissions from vehicle use. Four of these include some form of sliding scale, such as a showroom tax from nothing for cars with less than 120g/km of CO2 emissions, to between £500 and £2,000 for those above 180g/km.

Article posted on 15th October, 2009 - 2.29pm