GEORGE Osborne’s first all-Conservative budget yesterday revealed a couple of nuggets that may have a direct impact on motorcycles, not least the proposal to extend the period before a new vehicle’s first MoT test from three to four years.
It's claimed the measure will eventually save motorists more than £100 million per year.
Which all sounds dandy, until you look at the statistics which show that almost 20% of today’s three-year-old cars getting their first MoT test come away with a failure.
The Government has also pledged that 2020/21, all revenue from Vehicle Excise Duty will be put into a ‘roads fund’ and invested back into the road network. That's something that hasn’t happened since the Finance Act of 1936, which turned the old ‘Road Fund Licence’ into ‘Vehicle Excise Duty’ and removed the ring fence that had been in place since 1920 to ensure the money was spent on roads.
Perhaps more importantly it might silence the pedants who say 'You can’t call it road tax cos it’s not just for the roads' every time the subject arises.
- Sign up for Visordown's weekly newsletter, Bugsplat, to get the best motorcycle news, road tests and features plus exclusive competitions and offers direct to your inbox. Register as a Visordown member here and tick the box for Bugsplat in your newsletter settings here.
GEORGE Osborne’s first all-Conservative budget yesterday revealed a couple of nuggets that may have a direct impact on motorcycles, not least the proposal to extend the period before a new vehicle’s first MoT test from three to four years.
It's claimed the measure will eventually save motorists more than £100 million per year.
Which all sounds dandy, until you look at the statistics which show that almost 20% of today’s three-year-old cars getting their first MoT test come away with a failure.
The Government has also pledged that from 2020/21, all revenue from Vehicle Excise Duty will be put into a ‘roads fund’ and invested back into the road network. That's something that hasn’t happened since the Finance Act of 1936, which turned the old ‘Road Fund Licence’ into ‘Vehicle Excise Duty’ and removed the ring fence that had been in place since 1920 to ensure the money was spent on roads.
Perhaps more importantly it might silence the pedants who say 'You can’t call it road tax cos it’s not just for the roads' every time the subject arises.
- Sign up for Visordown's weekly newsletter, Bugsplat, to get the best motorcycle news, road tests and features plus exclusive competitions and offers direct to your inbox. Register as a Visordown member here and tick the box for Bugsplat in your newsletter settings here.
