As
usual we will have a prompt report on the Autumn Statement within an hour of the
Chancellor sitting down in the House of Commons.
Budget - March
2014
Our prompt report
of the key points for classic car enthusiasts. Report
Autumn Statement - December
2013
See our report. More
What
is causing the fall in crude oil prices?
The OPEC group of oil producing
countries(which supplies around a third of global crude oil production) recently
met and no agreement on reducing crude oil output was agreed. So OPEC members
are maintaining the current production rates so crude prices, like Brent
crude at around US$70/barrel, are falling. Where is the crude oil price floor
is a key question? At present the crude oil market is oversupplied to the extent
of around 1m barrels a day and a major new source of shale oil from the US has
become a key factor in the balance of supply and demand as many shale producers
have the lowest cost production at around US$40 a barrel. Many oil producing countries
in South America and elsewhere have economies that depend on foreign earnings
from their oil exports and to maintain that income with falling crude prices export
volumes have to be maintained or increased. Russia is also in that position and
reports say that to maintain its crude oil earnings it really needs a crude price
of over US$100, so clearly it will be suffering from the glut and consequent crude
oil price fall.
FairFuel
Campaign
The FairFuel
campaign say "Government continues to take over 60% in tax when we fill
up at the pumps, we have the highest Fuel Duty levels in the EU and the cost of
fuel directly impacts adversely on the cost of living, investment, jobs and operating
of businesses." Their aims are to "to stop any fuel duty rises in this
Parliament and beyond, cut
fuel duty by 3p for economic growth' ensure all Government taxes (fuel duty, VAT
and VAT on fuel duty) are displayed on fuel receipts in detail, bring UK petrol
and diesel prices to European parity in terms of fuel pricing and taxation, lobbying
for a full blown independent inquiry into the fuel pricing process and oil price
speculation, seeking an increase in tax incentives for the adoption of Greener
fuels and technologies and a fight for a better deal for all of the 32m road users
in the UK". All
good stuff - maybe they should include encouraging apple pie makers too!
Latest
pump prices
Pump
price trends
Posted: 1401203
| Autumn
Statement on Wednesday 3rd December
The Autumn Statement 2014 was delivered
in the House of Commons by the Chancellor of the Exchequer, George Osborne, on
Wednesday 3rd December 2014. The
Statement provided an update on the Government’s plans for the economy based
on the latest forecasts from the Office for Budget Responsibility. These forecasts
are published alongside the Budget Statement. Full details of those announcementsare
available on the HM
Treasury website following the Chancellor's statement to Parliament but as
usual we have a prompt report on the measures announced of interest to classic
motoring enthusiasts. HM
Treasury Autumn Statement 2014 document & HMRC
announcements
The headlines for classic car enthusiasts in the Autumn
Statement:
> Motor fuel duty frozen in 2015 - George Osborne said
"despite falling fuel prices let me make this clear: we've cut fuel duty
and we will keep it frozen."
< Road building to deal
with a number of bottlenecks
on the A1 in the north and the A303 - the Government has committed £15 billion
to improve the national road network. Green campaigners have railed against Chancellor
George Osborne's Autumn Statement, slamming its "1980's-style road building
programme and tax breaks for fossil fuel giants". Are there tax breaks for
open-toed sandals!
> Motorway fuel price comparison signs –
the government will install electronic signs showing fuel price comparisons on
the M5 between Bristol and Exeter during 2015. (Para 2.240, p 90 HM Treasuury
document.).
| | More
on the Autumn Statement for classic car motoring? | Vehicle
Excise Duty (VED)
In the Budgets 2013 and 2014 classic
car enthusiasts saw very welcome news with VED exemption concessions, so now the
concern for enthusiasts with cars built after 1974, which do not yet benefit from
the exemption, is the VED rates and bands that apply to their classic car
and daily cars.
VED
rates and bands
The Budget Statement in March 2013 announced that from
1st April 2013 VED rates would increase in line with RPI, apart from VED rates
for heavy goods vehicles (HGVs) which will be frozen in 2013-14. The Statement
added the Government has no plans to make significant reforms to the structure
of VED for cars and vans in this Parliament. So from 1st April 2014, VED rates
are likely to continue to increase in line with the Retail Prices Index (RPI).
According the previous announcements, the Government has shelved its plans to
reform to the structure of VED bands for cars and vans in this Parliament. So
the bands will remain. (Para: 2.146, page 83).
HM Treasury
VED
exemption now a rolling concession
In the Budget 2014 in March, tucked away on page 76 of the support document released
by HM Treasury shortly after the Chancellor sat down, was the welcome brief announcement
"the Government will introduce a rolling 40 year VED exemption for classic
vehicles from 1st April 2014". (Para
2.153, page 76). That
rolling VED exemption followed the earlier announcement in the support document
issued by HM Treasury shortly after the Budget Statement made in March 2013
that the Government would extend the cut off date from which classic vehicles
are exempt from VED by one year. So making it a rolling feature was very good
news.
See our additional information on VED exemption.
VED
exemption guide & flowchart
& More
Abolishing
the paper tax disc and payment of road tax by Direct Debit
These measures
were confirmed as part of a simplification of VED administration and were introduced
by DVLA in October 2014. See our NEWS reports. More
& More
| Fuel
duty
In March 2014 the Chancellor confirmed the 2p fuel duty increase
due in September 2014 would be frozen. This followed the announcement in the Autumn
Statement 2013 that as well as scrapping that increase, George Osborne confirmed
that no further rise would take place until at least May 2015 to ease the cost
of motoring for the general public and UK business. To date, fuel duty has now
been frozen for over four years, the longest duty freeze for over 20 years. Since
their election in 2011, the Coalition has cancelled or delayed all the fuel duty
rises that had been announced by the previous Labour administration.
However
by scrapping all intended rises in duty over the last four years, the Treasury
has sacrificed £22 billion of potential tax revenue; a loss which will have
to be balanced by cuts elsewhere in the economy.
With falling motor
fuel prices at filling stations, the tax take as a percentage of the price per
litre has risen. There is pressure to reduce that percentage with a consequent
reduction in the combined taxes and duty. With lower pump prices pleasing the
motorist the likelihood of a reduction in either tax or duty on motor fuel seems
slim.
Falling fuel prices
With the fall in crude oil prices
motor fuel prices have been falling driven in many cases by supermarket filling
stations - supermarkets are experiencing the most intense market battle for many
years and attracting customers has become an essential need. Using low motor fuel
prices is a tactic they use which is a benefit to the motorist as it puts pressure
on leading petrol retailers to consider their fuel prices too and often reduce
them. See our notes on these topics to the left alongside.
Pothole
repair fund
Classic car enthusiasts have reported some heavy suspension
crashes with the ever increasing pothole problem, so they welcomed the good news
in the last Budget Statement that a £200m pothole repair fund was being
established. This will mean councils will be able to bid for money to repair roads
ravaged by the winter floods. The current estimate for repairs mentioned in the
Budget 2014 was£400 million, on top of the £10.5 billion repair backlog
that already exists. (Para
2.28, page 63) | | Other
issues of concern to classic car enthusiasts | VAT
An increase in the VAT rate is very unlikely and a reduction from the current
20% seems unlikely too.
| Insurance
tax
A change has not been suggested which might have an impact on classic
car motor insurance policies. The standard rate of 6% (Jan 2011 - April 2012)
remained at 6% for 2012-13 - see page B18 of the HMRC document.
Tax
rates & allowances Annex B | | V8
Register - MG Car Club - the
leading group for MG V8 enthusiasts at www.v8register.net |
|
