Welcome to the new Autorama blog!
Friday 11 December 2009 | By Nige O'SheaBack to Blog
Welcome to the new Autorama blog! I'm Nige, Autorama's resident tax and VAT expert, and I'm here to bring you updated news articles every month and to answer any tricky questions you might have. Perhaps you are baffled about something relating to the funding of business vehicles, or the tax and VAT issues involved? Maybe you have an awkward question you are trying to answer. If so, from now on you can ask me, through this blog.
This month, I'm looking at the Chancellor's Pre-Budget Report, which has certainly raised some eyebrows. As always seems to be the protocol with these things, it's not so much what he tells you in his speech (ie the good news); it's more what he puts in his 212 page report (the bad news) that you need to watch out for! Hopefully, reading this blog will save you from having to trawl through the whole report to find out the real news.
We all know that VAT will be going back up on January 1st Alistair - did you really need to tell us that, or were you perhaps hoping we would be impressed that it hasn't gone up further! Did anybody hear you mention tax on private company fuel, I wonder? This small point only affects about 5 million company car drivers, after all!
Let me explain... As from April 2010, tax on fuel provided for private use will rise from the current £16,900 to £18,000 per annum. This means that if you drive a standard BMW 520d Auto, and receive private fuel, your taxable charge for fuel only will be £18,000 x 28% (the relevant band for the BMW 520d Auto), giving a taxable charge for the year of £5,040. For a 40% tax payer, this will mean an actual cost of over £2,000 per annum for fuel only! I wouldn't even work it out if you're at the 50% tax banding!
Private fuel on commercials has also changed, and this rises from £500 to £550 per year, giving an actual cost of £220 per year for a 40% tax payer.
So - if you drive a commercial, and I'm thinking here about something like a Nissan Navara Acenta Double Cab Pick Up, with skin and wind (leather and air-conditioning for the uninitiated) and a bidét (who can tell me what that is? Suggestions please!) you will pay £1,796 less per year (work it out - that's 50 pints of beer per month!) and all for using as much fuel as you can! Oh, and from your elevated position in the Navara, you can look down in a superior way on that annoying BMW driver!
So now it's your turn - what are your thoughts on the Pre Budget Speech and how it's going to affect you? I'm looking forward to hearing your views and comments...
Read also
Tax benefits of a Truck
Wednesday 31 March 2010
Contract Purchase Benefits
Thursday 04 February 2010
Contract Hire Explained
Wednesday 27 January 2010
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