WEIGHT AS A BASIS FOR TAXATION.
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VERY CAREFUL consideration of the whole subject of the best basis of taxation in theory and in practice is now rendered specially necessary in view of the increased probability that the Customs and Excise authorities, acting through the Chancellcr of the Exchequer, will definitely insist on some alternative to the petrol tax being found. The idea of simplifying the petrol tax by introducing a flat rate for commercial and private vehicles, would overcome seine, but not all, of its practical drawbacks. There would still remain to be considered each year a large number of applications for rebate, and there would remain_ also the risk of loss of revenue to the Exchequer ctwing to the more extensive. use of cruder fuels, which could not be taxed without infinite difficulty and expense.
If we must seek an alternative, then it seems to us that, so far as commercial vehicles are concerned, there is no need to introduce the very obvious faults that are to be found in any system in which the basis -.of taxation is some horse-power formula. Some weeks ago (October 14th) a contributor, -who went so far as to maintain that taxation ought not to reflect so m'u'ch the actual use made of the road by the vehicle as the use which could be made if the vehicle were fully employed, advocated a tax based on legal laden or unladen weight. Probably, if we must seek an alternative to the petrol tax, this would be the best and simplest for the ordinary run of commercial vehicles. In practice, one of the disadvantages is that it would be difficult to arrange the tax fairly, until we see in what way vehicles are to be classified under the law dealing with their construction and use. We could, however, provide that every vehicle shall be clearly marked with its maximum legal laden weight, and that the tax shall be paid in accordance with this imarking, a paper showing the amount of tax paid cI6 for the current year being carried by the driver, to be produced on demand in the event of any question arising as to excess weight.
The tax would go up in steps, a figure being agreed for each total laden weight and a scale prepared in steps of one ton. In estimating -the figure for any particular class of vehicle, we should have to take into account not only its legal weight, but its legal speed and the average mileage which it could be expected to cover in practice. We should not tax the vehicle with a maximum laden weight of 12 tons four times as much W1 that with the maximum laden weight of 3 tons, because the possible mileage of the latter would probably be twice that of the former.
Thus, in the case of this heavy vehicle, if we assumed 8,000 as a reasonable annual mileage, then we might multiply the total tonnage by the number of thousand miles per annum. In this example we should have 12 x 8 = 96. The total tax payable by such a, vehicle might be in the neighbourhood of 220. We -might use as our formula : —Total laden weight in tons multiplied by reasonable annual mileage in thousands, and divided by 6 gives the tax payable in pounds sterling. In the instance taken we should 96 have — = 219 4s.
5 If another and lighter class of vehicle has a maximum weight of six tons and a reasonable mileage of G X 12 72 12,000 miles, we should have 2 — – – 214 8s, 5 5 Even the lightest commercial vehicles in the nature of pareelcars, would have to be registered and marked -with their maximum laden weight, and perhaps one of the main disadvantages of the system would be the necessity for permitting the actual laden weight of
the vehicle, light or heavy, to be challenged from time to time. Possibly, this difficulty would be reduced if the unladen instead of the laden weight were taken as the basis, but, even then we should have to recognize that the weight might have been increased after it had been first checked, or that the marking might have been altered. There should, however, be no iiisuperable difficulties so far as goods-carrying vehicles are concerned. The question of the passenger vehicle is perhaps, a more complex one. Certainly, many road surveyors and a fair section of private motorists would like to see the motorbus and char-a-banes more severely taxed than the goods. carrying vehicle. In the case of the motorbus this appears to be reasonable, because the mileage covered is exceptionally high. Supposing, however, that we were to tax the motor omnibus twice as heavily as the larger goods-carrying vehicle, making a total of about £40 per annum this would be hardly fair to the owner of a motor coach or char-a-banes used only during a brief season and covering a comparatively mall mileage. At the same time we toast recognize that this class of vehicle is not strictly limited, either by law or public opinion, as to the fares that may be charged. Moreover, the proprietors of such vehicles, not requiring them for their main purpose during the winter, would be encouraged to fit -them during that season with goods-carrying bodies and thus keep them in useful service.
The case of the motorcab would also be rather a difficult one. Perhaps the best plan would be to tax these and the hire car upon the same basis as the private motorcar, but at a lower rate per mile, having regard to the reasonable mileage. Presumably, the average cab, or hire car, covers an appreciably higher annual mileage than the same chassis used as a private car, so that ikinight not be unfair to tax it at exactly the same rates per annum. In addition to the taxation outlined above,, there should, we think, be a, special charge made in respect of any vehicle running on metal tyres. Under the scheme outlined, the metal-tyred vehicle would, in any case, be at a disadvantage, because it would at least pay the same tax, though its lower speed limit would involve a lower anrttial mileage. Nevertheless, we should be inclined to go further and to accord even stronger preferential treatment to the rubber tyre. It may seem premature and unnecessary to discuss this whole question in any detail so long as the petrol tax remains in existence, but we shall be surprised if the very near future does not show that the immediate consideration of alternatives is wise and even essential.
Many of our readers will, no doubt, consider that the great drawback of the system outlined above is that it does not reflect the use made of the road by each individual vehicle. This is admittedly true, but there may be some who would consider the change not unwelcome on the grounds that the commercial vehicle owner who keeps his vehicle fully occupied is doing more to help towards national economy of transport than the man whose vehicle only covers a trifling mileage. It may be maintained that the former deserves the slight encouragement which would be offered to him were he expected to pay no more in taxation than those who put their vehicles to less use.