road tax wiil 25 and over be exempt

[espritstu]

hi with the new goverment will they revert back to a car at theage of 25 years now be tax exempt as they did before labour got in all these years ago and stopped it,does any one know or read the manifesto cheers

[kenny]

Someone on Pistonheads emailed this question to David Cameron.

I dropped CMD an email last week asking about what their policy would be on reintroducing the rolling classic car tax expemtion. Here's the reply:

Response

Dear Mr Hughes,

I am writing on behalf of David Cameron to thank you for your email.

Under the previous Conservative administration, we introduced a rolling measure so that historic vehicles would be exempt from paying vehicle excise duty (the tax disc) if they were more than 25 years old. This was designed to help protect the history and heritage our motoring and transport heritage. However, in 1997, the current Labour Government froze the rolling aspect of this exemption; introducing a fixed cut off date instead. This meant that owners of any vehicle constructed after 1 January 1973 would have to pay vehicle excise duty if they were not declared to be off the road (SORN).

We fully understand your concern with this issue. Under the current arrangements there is a real danger that the tax on vehicles registered after 1973 may become too expensive for enthusiasts to afford. This is particularly an issue when an enthusiast has a collection of several vehicles. Many owners may only tax them for a few months in summer or even take them off the road indefinitely. The current system limits the opportunities of seeing these vehicles on the road and the additional costs could prove so burdensome that they threaten jobs in the restoration sector.

We believe that examples of our rich motoring history should be preserved for the enjoyment of future generations to come. As we move further away from the 1973 cut off date, the argument gets stronger and stronger to revise the current system. Unfortunately Labour's debt crisis means we are not in a position to make any promises regarding restoring the rolling VED date. However I will ask my team to look at this problem and see what affordable and practical measures could help.

Yours sincerely,


Nicola Sheldon

[espritstu]

cheers kenny, at the end of the day this is now a new goverment also they should consider the classic car industry,firstly we are not daily chewing up the roads every day,causing potholes etc,we drive more safely as we cherish our cars,weekend driving vastly reducing carbon emissions saving the NHS thousands of pounds as people will breath cleaner air reducing chest infections ,we can go on send this to the prime minister give us a break a car 25 years and over has paid enough

[robin]

I think all they will consider is their own pockets, as usual.

So if Lord Ashcroft were in the unfortunate position of owning a fleet of classic cars that he might have to pay tax on (should he actually pay any UK tax these days?), then of course the measure would be reintroduced ASAP.

Cheers,
Robin

[espritstu]

hi robin, your right i think there should be some sort of goverment grant like they have too repair old houses etc as the classic car era has aid all that road tax and when we do use the so called roads after we return to the garage there are repairs to do as the roads are in modern day very poor crap condition.

[smee]

I mean it would be nice (only 12 years to go to tax free motoring) but what suprises me is how pleasant and lengthy the reply is. I thought I would never say this but do tey not have anyhting more important to deal with at the moment?

[Corranga]

I mean it would be nice (only 12 years to go to tax free motoring) but what suprises me is how pleasant and lengthy the reply is. I thought I would never say this but do tey not have anyhting more important to deal with at the moment?

That though just crossed my mind too, unless it's actually on the agenda?

Chris