£1000 saving for London families under Green Switch plans

6.08.04pm UTC (GMT +0000) Thu 26th Oct 2006

Sarah launching the Green Tax Switch with fellow Lib Dem MEPs in Brussels

The average London family could be £1000 a year better off under new Liberal Democrat tax proposals, claims London's Lib Dem Euro-MP Baroness Sarah Ludford. The new party policy aims to change behaviour by cutting the base rate of taxation by 2p at the same time as taxing behaviour that causes pollution and climate change.

Green taxes under the current government have been steadily falling and this trend must be reversed if Britain is to make an effective contribution to tackling the problem of climate change.

The proposals include raising Vehicle Excise Duty on the most polluting cars to £2000, at the same time as introducing much lower bands to reward clean vehicles. This would shift patterns of car buying and tackle the source of greenhouse gases from transport.

Airport taxes per passenger will be abolished and instead each plane that takes off will be taxed on its emissions. This will reward full flights and punish those that fly only half full.

Sarah Ludford, an active campaigner on London environmental issues such as air pollution, Heathrow third runway and sewage in the Thames, claims the campaign is a wholesale change in taxation thinking, as well as a first for British politics.

She said: "The EU has long established the principle that the polluter should pay for their damage. This green method of taxation would be fairer on the poorest families and make polluters in Britain pay for the environmental harm they are causing."

"The initiative of LibDem Richmond Council in proposing lower parking permit charges for eco-friendly cars while gas-guzzlers pay a lot more, is a welcome example of what can be done locally."

"The 'Green Tax Switch' is the first time we have put serious flesh on our commitment to use the tax system to change behaviour and limit carbon emissions. The proposals are a breakthrough for British politics as there is now a bona fide option of voting to switch the burden of tax from income onto pollution."

Fairness is a fundamental principle of the system and would address the current anomaly that sees the poorest earners paying a higher proportion of their income in tax than the richest. They will benefit the vast majority of pensioners, key public sector workers and young professionals by raising the taxes of those who pollute the environment and taxing the very wealthy.

Notes

For more information on the Green Tax Switch see: www.greentaxswitch.com