§ Dr. Glynasked the Minister of Transport (1) what consideration he has given to the taxation of the ownership of vehicles; what representations he has received on this subject; and what proportion of these have been against the proposal;
(2) if, in his examination of alternative forms of vehicle taxation, he will, in view of the practical difficulties, reject the option of taxation on ownership;
(3) what steps his Department is taking to make the present system of vehicle licensing less liable to avoidance.
§ Mr. Fowler[pursuant to his reply,17 December 1980]: In July I published a consultation paper inviting comments on a proposal to change vehicle excise duty from a tax on use to a tax on possession. The aim of the change was to reduce the high level of evasion. I am grateful for the very many responses I have received both from interested organisations and the public.
The great majority deplored evasion but raised doubts about the principle of the change. It has never been any part of the Government's intention unfairly to penalise the law-abiding motorist. It was very clear from the public response that there were fears that our proposals would bear hard on a number of groups like the classic vehicle owners, the dealers and those people who lay up their cars for the winter.
The outcome of the consultation points firmly to improving enforcement of the present system, instead of replacing it by a tax on possession. I have decided therefore not to proceed with tax on possession but to seek ways of further strengthening our efforts to cut evasion.
As regards enforcing the existing system, the special blitz campaigns we have conducted in co-operation with 409W the police in a number of areas have been very successful. More campaigns are planned and I shall be implementing other improvements in the existing system.
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