A Taxing Question

The UK Conservatives, currently mulling over the idea of raising “green taxes” while
lowering other tax rates, will be paying careful attention to reaction to the
Liberal Democrat Party’s similar announcement. The Liberal Democrats, a
center-left group with some libertarian inclinations, have decided to increase
taxes on SUVs and other vehicles that emit comparably large amounts of carbon
dioxide per gallon of gas used. This has prompted the understandable objection
that this may lead to a situation where an owner of a large vehicle* who drives
it only a small amount around a city may pay more taxes than someone who owns a
smaller vehicle but emits more because he uses it more.
The Sun, arguably
the most influential daily newspaper, read by around 4 million people, reacted
to the policy
with the headline:
POTTY LIBS IN TAX
GRAB
*Colloquially known
as “Chelsea Tractors” in London.