Opposition slams road tax figures
Official estimates from the government have revealed that around nine million drivers will be left worse off by new road tax laws.Changes to vehicle excise duty, to be introduced next year, will leave some motorists paying up to £245 per year extra.However, the government said that the worst-affected will be those who drive the most highly-polluting vehicles - and that the tax will therefore help the UK to meet emissions-cutting targets.Treasury minister Angela Eagle also pointed out that the duty would also fall for 33 per cent of drivers.Responding, shadow chancellor George Osbourne said that the policy "gives green taxes a bad name", and suggested that prime minister Gordon Brown had misled parliament when he said that a "majority" would be helped by it.AA president Edmund King added that the tax estimates "confirm our worst fears" and are "politically dangerous". "This is not a green tax but a mean tax that will hit millions of hard-up families," he said.
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