The "green levy" on motorists announced in Alistair Darling's first Budget will double car tax revenue to £4 billion [$8 billion] but reduce vehicle emissions by less than one per cent, Treasury figures have showed.
This will result in the owners of family cars, estates [station wagons] and people carriers paying hundreds of pounds a year more to use the roads. [....]
Justine Greening, a shadow Treasury minister who obtained the figures, said last night: "This is a massive tax hike which will have virtually no impact on the environment.
"Despite their claims, the Government don't expect this move to change behaviour at all - it is just another eco-stealth tax of the worst kind."
Some of the biggest tax increases are planned for drivers of mid-range family cars, including some models of the Ford Focus, the Renault Espace and even Nissan Micras.
However, the tax rises for Porsches and Rolls-Royces will be less....
