www.everythingsgonegreen.co.uk

Want to find out how much you’ll be paying for your Vehicle Excise Duty (VED aka road tax) in 2007/2008? The Chancellor promised to tax the most polluting vehicles: Band G vehicles, the most polluting at 226g/km of CO₂ and above, had their tax raised from £210 to £300 this year and will rise again to £400 in the tax year 2008/2009.

Pre-graduated VED (registered before March 2001)

Graduated VED for Private Vehicles (registered from March 2001)

^*for new cars registered after 23 March 2006

Gordon Brown has announced that he wishes to promote environmentally sustainable growth and environmental innovations.

• On Vehicle Excise Duty the most polluting cars will only need to pay £300 road tax this year and £400 from next year.
• The 2p fuel duty rise has been deferred for 6 months.
• Grants of up to £4000 will be available for pensioners installing insulation and heating in their homes.
• “Zero Carbon” homes up to a value of £500,000 will be exempt from stamp duty.
• Landfill tax will rise by £8 a year from April 2008.
• £50m has been pledged to prevent the destruction of the second largest rain forest in the world in central Africa.
• £800m is going to the Environmental Transformation Fund (jointly run by the international development and environment secretaries)
• Landfill Tax increases from £21 per tonne to £24 per tonne (except for inactive waste which stays at £2 per tonne)
• The Climate Change Levy, paid by commercial users and collected by utility companies, changes from:
• 0.43p per kwh to 0.441p per kwh for electricity
• 0.15p per kwh to 0.154p per kwh for gas
• 0.96p per kilogram to 0.985p per kilogram for LPG and similar fuels
• 1.17p per kilogram to 1.201p pre kilogram for other taxable commodities like coal.

Gordon Brown is expected to raise taxes substantially on “gas guzzling” cars for Wednesday’s budget.

Last year the chancellor’s “green budget” gave £35 reductions in car tax to smaller cars but only increased the tax on larger cars by £45, a figure less than the price of a tank of gas and far from being a deterrent to those who can afford to purchase, own and drive large cars, namely 4×4s and “soft-roaders” or “Chelsea tractors”, as these road-hogging fashion-accessory-cum-status-symbols have become known.

Some quarters believe that the road tax may double to £400 for inefficient vehicles, although falling well below the mark of £1000 demanded by green groups for the worst polluters. Friends of the Earth, for instance, have called for Gordon Brown to exercise substantial measures if he is to leave a “green legacy” as the chancellor.

He may also offer a few concessions to property owners who are prepared to “go green” with possible stamp duty land tax exemption for the purchasing of “zero-carbon” homes as he first hinted at in his pre-budget report.

BT are doing their “save paper” marketing again with their bt.com/eyes campaign.

Last time BT touted their association with the Woodland Trust, which they still retain, but this campaign includes the opportunity to win £1000 worth of vouchers in their weekly draw to spend at dabs.com the computer kit retailer.

Aswell as being entered into their weekly draw, you not only save 25p per monthly bill by going paper-free (and BT must save 25p per customer too!) but BT will also plant a tree on your behalf with the Woodland Trust.

Note: It was difficult logging in today, but let’s just hope that’s due to droves of green people registering to go paper-free too.