CaravanTimes breaks down how the new summer budget will affect towing your caravan
Chancellor George Osborne’s new summer budget has caused a stir amongst many. If you’ve been wondering how the new budget will affect your motoring, CaravanTimes has got it sussed for you.
First up, we hope you’re going to make the most of your summer caravan holiday this year, because motor insurance looks like it’s going to be raised this November. The Chancellor has raised car insurance premiums by 3.5 per cent (from 6 per cent to 9.5 per cent), which has come as a shock to many UK road users.
During his summer budget speech, Osborne also stated that the UK’s road networks are ranked below Puerto Rico and Namibia in terms of quality. He went on to claim that “every single penny raised in Vehicle Excise Duty (VED) in England” will go into a new Roads Fund that he is set to start up. How true to his word he will be remains to be seen.
Osborne also claimed during his speech that the current system whereby many new cars with low carbon emission are exempt from Vehicle Excise Duty is not sustainable. Beginning in 2017, and exclusively to new brand new cars, VED bands will be introduced.
The Chancellor spoke of the new arrangement, saying: “The duty in the first year will be set according to emissions, like today, but updated for new technology.
“Thereafter there will be three duty bands – zero emission, standard and premium.
“For standard cars – that covers 95 per cent of all cars sold in the UK – the charge will be £140 a year. That’s less than the average £166 that motorists pay today.
“There will be no change to VED for existing cars – no one will pay more in tax than they do today for the car they already own.”
So, in short, you won’t have to pay a different VED charge until you purchase a new car. There are also plans in place to extend the deadline for MOTs on new cars and motorbikes. The current deadline is three years, but the government is looking to extend it to four, which could save motorists over £100m per year. March, 2017, will also see a freeze of duty.
What do you think of the budget announcements? Do you think the decisions made will have a detrimental effect on caravanners?
