Tax Incentives To Reduce Your Carbon Footprint

The English have a love affair with cars even if it is something that does not excite you personally. Most businesses and taxpayers will be aware that the whole scheme of car taxation is stacked against high emission vehicles so the message is lower your emissions and reduce your tax bill.

For 2009/10 the taxable car benefit is 15% of list price for CO2 emissions of 135g/km increasing by 1% for each additional 5g/km up to a maximum charge of 35% for emissions of 235g/km or more. There are lower percentages for hybrid, LPG, electric and dual fuel cars. Diesel cars suffer a 3% supplement. The fuel scale charges, the VAT fuel scale charges and Vehicle Excise Duty similarly rise with emissions.

The value of Capital Allowances has for the most part reduced in recent budgets, But the good news is that a 100% First Year Allowance is available on energy saving and environmentally beneficial equipment, electric and low CO2 emission (up tp 110g/km) cars, naturalgas/ hydrogen refuelling equipment.

There art a number of other incentives available to businesses through schemes run by suppliers such as grants are available towards installation of ground source heat pumps.