The British government has commissioned a think tank to come up with a variety of ideas to both increase energy efficiency as well as raise money for future projects. Billions of pounds will be needed to make the necessary changes in infrastructure if the United Kingdom is going to move to alternative types of energy in the future. As things like electric cars and trains become more popular countries will have to completely restructure their infrastructure, which will be a long and expensive process. One of the ways that the think tank has come up with to raise the necessary funds is to levy a green tax on anything that uses energy or pollutes the environment, including cars, and electricity and gas for homes.
In addition to annual increases in taxes on electricity and gas, the Green Fiscal Commission has recommended that the government also increase taxes on automobiles. This is part of a large series of taxes which are part of their polluter pays concept in which those who create pollution are financially responsible for it. The proposed tax would increase annually over the next ten years, making it increasingly more expensive to purchase a new car.
The tax would apply to all new automobiles purchased in the United Kingdom. In the beginning, the tax will be three hundred pounds and increase annually until the year 2020. Ten years from now there would be a staggering three thousand three hundred pound tax on all new cars. A spokesman from the GFC says that one of the reasons people are so wasteful is that energy is cheap, by making it more expensive people will be forced to be energy efficient.
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