Government scraps new tax burden on pickup trucks

The Government has made a U-turn on its plans to change the taxation status of double-cab pickups, a move that would have affected thousands of farmers and owners across the country. 

Current rules allow pickup trucks with a payload greater than one tonne to be taxed as a van, not a car. The changes would have reclassified double-cab pickups as company cars, leading to taxes being applied that are calculated based on the vehicle’s CO² emissions and list price. 

This change could have increased costs fivefold, having a drastic impact on the popular pickup truck market. 

Gamekeeper and motoring journalist Ed Coles told ST: “This is welcome news. The changes would have affected a lot of people in the rural community. With prices increasing on everything, heaping more tax on the people who provide for and look after the nation’s countryside would have resulted in serious adverse effects. 

“The double-cab pickup is an essential bit of kit these days, for the seed companies, agronomists and farmers. They all use pickups and they are the ones who would have had to shoulder the extra cost,” he said.