Hidden away in the depths of Alastair Darling's budget was another blow that will hit unsuspecting British drivers hard: the backdating of stiff car tax rises for cars registered between 2001 and 2006, bought when nobody knew that 225g/km would be an important threshold.

We have the Association of British Drivers (www.abd.org.uk) to thank for bringing this to the public eye - ABD Chairman Brian Gregory explains: "Recent budgets have featured rises in Vehicle Excise Duty for less efficient vehicles, but these have always been restricted to new vehicles to discourage purchase and have not been retrospective. In the 2008 budget, these taxes were not only raised and new banding introduced but, by backdating the increases to cover vehicles registered since 2001, Alastair Darling has at a stroke punished those who cannot afford newer, more efficient cars."

The ABD points out that Mondeos, Lagunas, Vectras, Galaxies and even some smaller cars such as Astras and Focuses are hit if they are unlucky enough to have an engine in a higher CO2 band. Owners face a double whammy, as their cars will plummet in value due to the tax changes. Already the trade guides are predicting large drops and long before these cars have reached the end of their useful life, these cars will be scrapped because no-one will want to buy them with such punitive tax to pay. How can scrapping perfectly good vehicles and building loads more new ones possibly be better for the environment?

The arrogance of Mr Darling is astonishing. When questioned in a radio interview following the budget, says the ABD, he suggested that those affected needn't pay higher VED as they could buy new cars. That may be an easy solution on an MP's salary and expenses, but not at all for the sort of people who choose two to seven year old cars because that is all they can afford - and if the trade-in value has plummeted, they have even less chance of affording a new replacement.

The ABD has called for the scrapping of VED and a revenue neutral amount put on fuel tax, arguing that: "Fuel tax is the only fair tax as it depends upon usage and efficiency rather than taxing vehicles regardless of mileage. If the government wishes to reduce CO2 output then taxing use of fuel is clearly the most effective, fairest and simplest method."

We have to agree - of course the reason it doesn't happen is that the government is already coming in for a lot of criticism for having one of the highest levels of tax on fuel in the world; adding VED to that would add at least 10p a litre to the price of fuel..

Malcolm McKay, Motorbase News Editor