Punitive action by Chancellor
Page 68
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GREAT CONCERN has been expressed on both news and editorial pages of the technical press about the impact of the new VED rates proposed by the Chancellor of the Exchequer. However, one of the most serious and punitive changes for many operators of 32-ton articulated outfits appears to have escaped attention.
I refer to the 63 per cent increase in duty on the 32-tongvw four-axled combination, which has been raised from E1,820 to £2,940 per annum for vehicles purchased after May 1 this year, where the operator acquires a tractor chassis with a higher manufacturer's gvw rating.
Over the past 10 years, most fleets have bought tractor units with a much higher power-toweight ratio than the legal minimum in the interests of more efficient operation. In future, given the absence of a facility to downplate, they are to be penalised where they do not require more than 32 tons gvw capacity, unless they buy threeaxled tractors or trailers, thereby incurring both higher capital outlay and greater running costs. All this in addition to the increased duty on fuel.
Does the Chancellor really believe he is helping industry with such measures?
Does the Government realise that our already overburdened road system will become more congested with underpowered
articulated units if operators resort to the very few machines now on the market with no higher than a 32-ton rating?
The answer, doubtlessly, is that the practical consequences of the new scales of duty were not adequately foreseen.
This situation is truly iniquitous, and one in which both industry and, eventually, consumers will suffer yet again. It certainly demands a great deal more publicity, and realisation by the Department of Transport that the call for a downplating facility is a very genuine one! TED JONES Group Distribution Manager Midland Poultry Holdings Shropshire