I do not wish to oppose this Bill, because, in the first place, it would be useless, and, in the next place, I do not think that any one—certainly I do not—wants to question the decision of the Government to have a supplementary Budget and the provision that has been made for a tax on petrol, but I would like to suggest to the Minister for Finance that should he by any chance be in position that he has to impose or adjust any further taxation that the motor car is taxed just about as much as if not more than, it can reasonably stand at the present time. Apart altogether from expensive cars that run into £700 or £800, on which a man could undoubtedly afford to pay a substantial tax, I suggest that taxation on a comparatively cheap car, such as a car that costs £200 or £250, is really too heavy at the present time, and that when times are better, if it is possible, something ought to be done to reduce taxation.
I made a somewhat rough calculation, but I think for practical purposes you may take it as correct. If a man buys a car for £250 and uses it for five years—if he uses it for trade or has to travel a great deal or if a farmer is using it in the country and gets 10,000 miles a year, which is not unreasonable —he covers 50,000 miles in the five years. Assume that he is fortunate enough to sell it at the end of five years for £40. Adding up the cost of the car, the road tax, petrol and say £25 on spare parts, which is very moderate for a car that type in five years—and if he gets 25 miles to the gallon—I have found that his total expenditure after deducting the £40 that he would sell it at would be about £490. The road tax, import duty and the tax on petrol would amount to £193, so that out of £490 in five years he actually pays £193. I could give similar figures for other cars, but I am taking the low priced cars and the English car, which pays a minimum duty, for my calculations. I suggest, if it is possible in the future, that some steps should be taken to make some concessions, at any rate, on the total amount of the tax attached to low priced cars.