Banger blues?
26 Mar 08
Perhaps it's time to rethink your policy on company cars – and do your bit for the environment
Future’s green
Still driving that old banger? Maybe it’s time to rethink your policy on company cars – and do your bit for the environment.
Research from KPMG shows that 52 per cent of employees who opted for cash instead of a company car spent it on second-hand vehicles – which spew out emissions between 30-40 grams per kilometre higher than the average company car.
Chancellor Alistair Darling gave companies an incentive to invest in a more environment-friendly fleet in his recent Budget. He said first year capital allowances of 100 per cent will be available for cars with CO2 emissions of less than 110g/km. If you’ve a gas-guzzling beast with CO2 emissions of more than 160g/km, it will only qualify for tax relief of 10 per cent.
KPMG calculates that if the 400,000 workers who have given company car schemes a bodyswerve since 1999 chose to take advantage of green tax breaks, it could save over 300,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions a year.
That’s the equivalent of more than 1,700 Boeing 747 flights from London to New York.