Claim Those Rebates

While the Great Tax Muddle is in full swing at Swansea—many car owners have been finding that in the absence of essential documents held by the Computers Centre it is not possible to tax new cars or re-tax older ones, it should be remembered that two concessions to older vehicles have apparently not been rescinded. We refer to the annual tax of £30.8 (if we have calculated it correctly in the absence of revised rates) instead of £40 appertaining to cars of not more than 7 h.p. (old RAC rating) first registered in 1946 or earlier, which is of value to owners of certain vintage Jowetts, Peugeots, and small veteran cars, and the annual rate of £8 instead of £16 which still, we think, applies to motorcycles of over 250 c.c. providing they were first licensed prior to 1933 and weigh not more than 224 lb. The former concession was made when the h.p. tax was altered to a flat-rate tax in 1947, although why it applied to cars of 6 and 7 h.p. rating has ever been a mystery. As is the concession for these not-too-heavy motorcycles of 1932 and earlier. But don’t overlook these useful savings if you happen to run vehicles so covered—the Taxman is unlikely to remind you!—W.B.