Pre-budget report aims all environmental issues at vehicles

It would be nice if your business could support environmental measures to help reduce carbon emissions in the UK.


I already work from home so my carbon footprint starts out low without the need to travel to work.

But did the Chancellor announce any support for businesses to improve their carbon footprint in his pre-budget report?

Any support seemed to be mainly in the area of vehicle use.

• support for electric vehicles. From April 2010:

  - all electric cars will be exempt from Company Car Tax for a period of 5 years

  - all electric vans will be exempt from Van Benefit Charge for 5 years

  - a 100 per cent first-year allowance will be provided for the purchase of electric vans, subject to confirming compatibility with State aid rules

That’s an incentive for company car fleets to switch to electric cars.

• from 2012, the CO2 emissions thresholds for Company Car Tax (CCT) bands will be shifted down by 5g CO2 per km, and the graduated table of CCT bands will be extended downwards to a new 10 per cent band for cars emitting up to 99g CO2 per km, in place of the existing 10 per cent band.

That’s a punitive incentive, aimed at getting more money out of companies with cars emitting more carbon.

• changes to the company fuel tax regime. From 6th April 2010, the figure used as the basis for calculating the benefit of private fuel received for a company car will rise from £16,900 to £18,000; and for a company van from £500 to £550.

Again, this is a punitive incentive with less fuel benefits than before.

• subject to clearance under the state aid rules, businesses will be able to claim 100 per cent first-year allowances for expenditure on new and unused electric vans incurred on or after 1 April 2010 (Corporation Tax) or 6 April 2010 (Income Tax).

This is also a positive incentive for companies to switch to electric vans.

I couldn’t see anything else in the business arena on environmental topics. It would be nice to have seen more positive incentives and other incentives than based on vehicle use. It all seems a bit narrow-minded somehow.