Higher taxes threat in bid to stop drivers buying diesels

NEW diesel cars could face higher taxes in this month’s Budget as the Government pushes drivers to buy cleaner vehicles.

The move, part of the Clean Air Strategy announced in July, will be aimed at raising funds towards air-quality initiatives.

Sources have suggested Chancellor Philip Hammond feels that a tax increase is a better option than enforcing further cuts in other areas, it was reported. But it is unclear whether he will increase VAT on diesel vehicle sales or create a new levy.

Environment Secretary Michael Gove has hinted at a possible tax in the Clean Air Strategy which aims to halt the production of non-hybrid cars by 2040.

Diesel sales have already fallen by 14.9 per cent in the year to October, according to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders. And drivers face an additional £10 per day charge on older diesel vehicles in central London on top of the existing Congestion Charge.

The crackdown against diesel engines follows the Volkswagen scandal where the company was forced to admit that it had

‘Voting with their wheels’

been using ‘defeat devices’ on diesel cars to give a lower emissions reading.

Edmund King, AA president, told the Financial Times: ‘It is ridiculous to further demonise diesel via differential taxes when drivers are already voting with their wheels. Some 41 per cent of AA members own diesels but that drops ... to 16 per cent when drivers are asked what fuel their next car will run on. The Treasury should concentrate on incentives for greener cars rather than hitting diesel.’

It comes as research suggests that breathing in diesel fumes may increase the risk of brittle bone disease among the elderly. A major study found even small increases in air pollution led to an increase in osteoporosis and bone fractures.

The research, by Columbia University in New York and published in the Lancet, focused on exposure to microscopic sooty particles known as PM2.5.

Of 9.2million people admitted to hospital in the US between 2003 and 2010, those living in areas of higher PM2.5 pollution were 4 per cent more likely to suffer broken bones related to osteoporosis.

Researchers believe particles causes damage and inflammation which accelerates bone loss. Smoking is known to have a similar impact.