The government should “stop punishing company car drivers”, according to the British Vehicle Rental and Leasing as it published its demands ahead of the March 16 Budget.
In calling for fairer treatment of company car drivers, the BVRLA has urged the government to carry out a wholesale review of the current benefit-in-kind tax system.
The BVRLA has calculated that since George Osborne became Chancellor in 2013 a series of tax increases had coincided with 30,000 fewer employees taking a car as part of their work package.
The BVRLA believes that more and more company drivers are instead choosing to use their own privately owned vehicles, which on average tend to be older, less safe and more polluting.
Going forward, the BVRLA calculates that the effect of the two percentage point increase in company car tax from 2017/18 and the delay in removing the 3% diesel supplement will cost the average company car driver an additional £626.94 in 2017/18, and an extra £882.26 in 2018/19 compared to what they paid in 2013/14.
BVRLA chief executive Gerry Keaney said: “The Chancellor must use the Budget to reverse some of the damaging decisions he has made recently, including the delayed abolition of the 3% diesel supplement. These measures are at odds with the government’s stated aims to increase the take-up of ultra-low emission vehicles and improve air quality in the UK.”