COMPANY car drivers are rejecting optional safety and security devices to cut their tax bills, according to fleet management company VELO. Managing director David Voss says the problem relates to a benefit in kind tax change introduced in April 1994 which provided for the taxing of car accessories worth more than £100 - and he wants Chancellor Kenneth Clarke to review the system.

Voss said: 'If, as part of a risk management programme, a company adopted a policy of having certain safety and security features fitted to its cars, its employees currently have no choice but to pay the extra tax - which seems unfair. This means that important features such as airbags, ABS systems, alarms and immobilisers are less likely to be fitted to company cars. Driver training - another important safety feature - is not taxed as a benefit, so why ABS brakes or airbags?