20ChangestotheCO2-basedcompanycartaxbandstobelaunchedthisyearcouldseethedriversofsomeofthegreenestfleetcarsontheroadhitwithsignificanttaxhikes.Industryexpertsexpectmorethanfouroutof10companycarswillbehitbyataxhikewhenthenewregimecomesintoforceinApril.ItwillendspecifictaxincentivesforcompanycarswithCO2emissionsof120g/kmorless.Thesevehiclescurrentlyqualifyforaspecial10%benefit-in-kindtaxrateunderthequalifyinglowemissionscar(QUALEC)scheme,butthiswillbeabolishedfromApril.Instead,anew10%taxbandwillapplytocarswithanemissionlevelofupto99g/kmunlesstheyqualifyfornewultra-lowemissiontaxbandsforcarswithemissionsof75g/kmandbelow.From100g/kmtherateis11%andrisesby1%forevery5g/kmtothecurrentmaximumof35%(emissionsof220g/km)(seetable).Beforethechanges,thecurrentstandardlowestcompanycartaxbandundertheCO2-basedcompanycartaxregimewas15%.Thequalifyingemissionsforthisbandwillbereducedfrom125g/kmto120g/km.DatagatheredbytheUK'slargestleasingcompanyreveals45%ofnewcarorderswillfallintothe100g/kmto120g/kmtaxbandandbehitbythe'QUALECEffect'.Thereforethesevehicles,aswellasanyexistingcompanycarsemittingmorethan99g/kmofCO2,willsoonbesubjecttoahighertaxburden.LexAutolease,Britain'sbiggestleasingcompany,calculatesthatonly8%ofcarsorderedwillqualifyforthenew10%companycarBIKtaxband(76g/kmto99g/km).So,despiterecenteffortsbymanufacturerstolaunchsub-120g/kmvehiclesandfleets'ordrivers'decisionstoadoptthese,manywillfaceanincreaseinthetaxablebenefittheyaredeemedtoreceiveforhavingacompanycar.Asaresult,theleveloftaxtheypaywillincreaseinadditiontotheamountoftaxtheemployerpaysNationalInsuranceContributions(NIC)onthebenefit.Basedonatypicalfleetof500vehicles,comprisingamixofVolkswagenGolf1.6TDI105MatchandBMW318dSEmodels,emitting119g/km,employers'NICcostscouldrisebymorethan£60,000ayear.AnemployeedrivingthesameBMW318dwillbehitwithayearlyBIKriseof£216iftheyarea20%taxpayerand£432atthe40%rate.Analystssaythatfleetsanddriverswillneedtoconsidersub-99g/kmcarstoensuretheirfleetremainsastaxefficientaspossibleinthelong-term.Newtaxregimetoendsub-120g/kmincentives

21CO2emissionssettotumbleforvansVanfleetoperatorscouldseeCO2-basedtaxedintroducedonvansafternewlegislationwasadoptedbytheEuropeanUnion.AspartofitsstrategytocutCO2emissionsfromlight-dutyvehicles,theEUhasadoptedlegislationtoreduceemissionsfromvans.TheVansRegulationwillrequiremanufacturerstocutemissionsfromvanstoanaverageof175g/kmofCO2by2017-withthereductionphasedinfrom2014-andto147g/kmby2020.Thesecutsrepresentreductionsof14%and28%respectivelycomparedwiththe2007Europeanaverageof203g/km.Onlythefleetaverageisregulated,somanufacturerswillstillbeabletomakevehicleswithemissionsabovethelimitprovidedthesearebalancedbyvehiclesbelowthelimit.IndustrycommentatorsarenowassessingwhethertheregulationwillalsoopenthedoorforCO2-basedtaxestobeintroducedforvansintheUK.TaxbandbyCO2emissions(g/km)TaxrateTaxrate2011/122012/132013/14petroldiesel*120Upto99Upto9510%13%n/a1009511%14%n/a10510012%15%n/a11010513%16%n/a11511014%17%12512011515%18%13012512016%19%13513012517%20%14013513018%21%14514013519%22%15014514020%23%15515014521%24%16015515022%25%16516015523%26%17016516024%27%17517016525%28%18017517026%29%18518017527%30%19018518028%31%19519018529%32%20019519030%33%20520019531%34%21020520032%35%21521020533%35%22021521034%35%22522021535%35%*Dieselhybridsnotsubjectto3%supplement