Alan Lunt, finance director, Lloyds TSB Autolease

The Budget announcement has been over-shadowed by the recent G20 meeting, so it will be interesting to see if the stimulus package announced there will result in a low-key Budget with few surprises.

No news could be good news, particularly when you consider that April 1 brought us a new Capital Allowance regime and fuel duty increases all in one day.

Fleet managers can be forgiven for wanting time to get to grips with the new taxation system before switching their minds to other issues.

But we all wait with bated breath to see whether there is any news on the potential scrappage proposal and what that might mean to new car sales and used car values.

Peter Tatlock, managing director, Masterlease

The old adage that you can’t please all people all of the time is close to Alastair Darling’s heart as he approaches his last Budget before the election.

So what can the fleet industry expect to see from Darling’s red briefcase?

Not much, hopefully, with a number of measures previously announced – such as the fuel escalator, the new CO2-based Capital Allowance regime, VED changes, and next year’s showroom tax – all contributing to the ever-growing taxation burden on UK fleets.

Under the green ‘banner’, plans will be announced to introduce trials for electric cars in two or three cities next year, as the Government aims to kick start a ‘green recovery’ to the nation.

This idea is encouraging and we welcome it.

There is also pressure for a UK version of the German ‘scrappage’ scheme to encourage movement in the new car market that last month saw a near one-third slump in sales year-on-year.

Darling’s plans to increase VAT from January 1 may be bad news if he increases it beyond 17.5%.

This would be a permanent cost to fleets because of the 50% disallowance on lease rentals.

Neville Briggs, managing director, CFC Solutions

There is optimism that the fleet industry is starting to show signs of recovery, following the recent economic turbulence and we have seen inspiring examples of cost control and overall efficiency.

A balance between the stability the industry requires, and changes to assist those who experience greater market sensitivity, will need to be found to ensure this optimism recovery is substantiated as the foundations of long-term recovery of the motor industry as a whole.

Any tax increases or reductions in public spending to serve the envisaged overall budget deficit or – conversely – further fiscal incentive programmes designed to stimulate demand, will need to be very carefully managed.

Alastair Kendrick, director, employment tax services, Mazars LLP

I am not expecting a lot of changes in the Budget which will impact on fleets.

However, I do feel there is a possibility that the limit of 120g/km of CO2 emissions delivering the 10% benefit-in kind band charge could be reduced.

This is because the 10% limit was used with manufacturers to encourage them to develop better engines.

With so many cars now hitting the sub-120g/km threshold, I wonder if the Government will move the goal posts?

This will obviously be a great way to generate additional tax for the Government.

I would also see some possible change to increase further the fuel scale charge on cars (the benefit drivers are taxed on for receiving free fuel for private mileage).

Clearly, the Capital Allowance changes have been announced and we do not expect anything to change in this regard.

I also do not expect any changes in regard to AMAP rates (Approved Mileage Allowance Payments – the amount an employee can claim on fuel for using their own car for business purposes).

Julie Jenner, chairman, ACFO

I expect an announcement on lowering the 120g/km threshold for the 10% benefit-in-kind tax band to align it with the 110g/km threshold for enhanced first-year allowances.

I would like deferral on any further increases in fuel duty due to the fact that drivers have recently suffered a 2ppl increase, supposedly to offset the VAT reduction.

However, one is a permanent increase and one is a temporary decrease, so how will drivers benefit?

I think we may see an increase in the figure used to calculate the fuel scale charge as the Government wants to dsicourage the free fuel benefit.

John Lewis, chief executive, BVRLA

We have warned the Government not to neglect the vitally important used car and van market in its attempts to stimulate the sale of new vehicles.

In a meeting with Treasury Minister Angela Eagle, we asked that any scrappage scheme include an incentive to purchase used vehicles of at least Euro IV emissions standard that emit no more than 165g/km of CO2.

We also called on the Government to learn from the errors of the German scrappage scheme, which boosted sales of small foreign cars but did little to help domestic German manufacturers.

The German plan also stifled the country’s used car market.

The BVRLA has also asked the Government to consider a number of other issues ahead of the Budget.

These include:

  • Imposing a moratorium on plans to increase fuel duty by 1.84p per litre and raise the annual goods and passenger vehicle test fee by 9%.
  • Postponing this year’s increase in the number of VED bands until 2010/11, when it can be combined with the introduction of the new first year rate. This would involve no cost to the Treasury in 2009/10 and would prevent fleets having to make costly changes to their vehicle management systems at the height of the current recession.
  • Altering the new business car taxation reform so that the Lease Rental Restriction (LRR) is applied to the end business user for all daily rental contracts of more than 30 days and is not applied to any rental below this duration. This will not create any additional burden for business users and will fulfil the government’s stated policy objective of applying the LRR to only one lease in a chain.
  • Clarifying the way the CO2 emissions thresholds are set for taxation purposes. The variety of different thresholds is confusing for companies and employees trying to maximise their tax savings and reduce their carbon footprint. An example of this is the treatment of ‘ultra-clean cars’, with the qualifying band being 100g/km of CO2 for Vehicle Excise Duty, 110g/km for Corporation Tax and 120g/km for benefit-in-kind tax.