LibDems' massive tax hike for farmers


While I welcome the Liberal Democrats' attempts to tackle climate change their new green tax shows once again that they have completely forgotten about the realities of life in rural Montgomeryshire.

The Liberal Democrats want car tax to rise from £175 for the basic model Landrover, for example, to £1500 and anything more powerful to £2000! Their proposed 2% reduction in income tax which is meant to compensate for this increase would still leave farmers having to find between £1300 and £1500 extra per year per vehicle even after tax relief.

This anti-rural policy, along with the LibDems' proposed land tax, will drive a stake through the heart of farming in Montgomeryshire. The Liberal Democrats say they want to "discourage marginal journeys" so it is fuel consumption not the annual excise duty which they should tax.

To equate a Landrover (a farmer's essential tool for the job) with a Chelsea Tractor used for the suburban school run betrays a woeful indifference to our way of life.