Ask Us Anything
Is a newer petrol car cheaper to tax?
I have a 1990 Mercedes petrol car and the tax is expensive, if I bought a 2012 petrol car would the tax be cheaper?
Pat CampionlaoisSep 2020 Filed under: taxation
Expert answer
Hi Pat,
Yup, such are the vagaries of the CO2-based tax system that we switched to in 2008. The idea was to reward those choosing vehicles with lower emissions, and that is often most starkly shown up when you start looking at older cars with larger engines versus newer models, which probably have much more power, but have smaller, more efficient engines. Of course there’s an argument that says that keeping an old car going, rather than buying a new one, is actually overall better for the environment, but that’s not going to wash with the tax authorities I’m afraid.
Neil Briscoe - Complete Car Advisor@neilmbriscoe