This article originally appeared in the Financial Post. Below is an excerpt from the article.
By Jack Mintz, August 11, 2023
Barely a nanosecond into our holiday trip to London last week, our airport cabdriver started telling us about the city’s “despised” Ulez (ultra-low emission zone) tax. Originally put in place in 2019 to curb pollution, it is being extended by the current mayor, Sadiq Khan, to include the outer boroughs and triple the area covered, effective Aug. 29.
A daily charge of £12.50 (roughly C$21) applies to each car and van that emits more nitrogen dioxide than allowed under an EU standard adopted in 2014. Most vehicles — including most gas-powered cars less than 14 years old and diesel cars less than seven years old — are currently exempt. On an older car driven every day, however, a U.K. resident could end up paying a whopping £4,660 (C$7,750) per year. Many Londoners subject to the tax are angry that the only recourse they have is to buy an exempt car at inflated prices. The compensation that’s paid is a measly £2,000 (C$3,400), barely enough to buy a scooter.
It is therefore no surprise that Ulez became a central issue in the July 22 byelection in Uxbridge, an outlying borough of London with few public transport options that has the highest rate of car ownership in the U.K. The Conservatives were trounced by Labour and the Liberal Democrats in two byelections outside London but they narrowly won Uxbridge.
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