Counting the cost (From Western Telegraph)

Counting the cost

LAST Wednesday Gordon Brown made the short journey from No 11 to deliver his tenth budget.

The Chancellor had smokers firmly in his sights and imposed a 9p-a-packet rise.

Pembrokeshire's drinkers were hit by a penny rise on a pint of beer, but the Chancellor decided against increasing the price of petrol or diesel.

But without doubt the headline-grabbing announcement was the increase in excise duty for 'gas-guzzling' vehicles.

The Chancellor plans to slap a higher rate of tax of £210 on vehicles that produce the highest emissions.

It is widely thought that the move was introduced to tackle the rising use of 4x4 vehicles in towns and cities.

Friends of the Earth has welcomed the proposal, but the move has provoked criticism in rural areas such as Pembrokeshire, where 4x4 vehicles are predominantly used for farming.

The National Farmers' Union said the move would penalise its members while having little impact on urban 4x4 use.

NFU Cymru president Dai Davies said: "We were extremely disappointed to see that no exemption was made for farmers who rely on 4x4 vehicles for their day-to-day livelihood.

"We would have liked to have seen the Chancellor differentiate between those cases in which a higher tax rate is used as an incentive for people to choose the more friendly option, and those cases in which we are not talking about choice, but necessity."

But Preseli Pembrokeshire Assembly Member Tamsin Dunwoody gave the plan her backing, saying it could give added impetus to green projects in the county.

"I hope this signals good news for the West Wales Eco Centre and Veg Oil Motoring which have been pioneering cleaner fuel in Pembrokeshire," she said.