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North Wales Live
03-06-2025
- Business
- North Wales Live
How to check using a number plate checker if the £150 DVLA car tax increase affects you
Motorists can use a number plate checker tool to see if they will be affected by the DVLA's £150 car tax increase. The AA is warning drivers that the change could have a significant impact on many people's finances. For many drivers, especially those with older fuel-efficient cars, the change in VED could lead to a steep rise in their car tax bill. Experts warn that vehicles registered between 2001 and 2017, which are still taxed under the older CO2-based system, are most at risk for the increase. According to roadside assistance expert Jack Cousens, the changes to Vehicle Excise Duty (VED) could be a "major financial shock" for millions of car owners whose vehicles are still paying VED under the old system. For our free daily briefing on the biggest issues facing the nation, sign up to the Wales Matters newsletter here He said: "VED changes and future increases threaten a major financial shock to the finances of millions of car owners whose vehicles are still paying VED under the 2001-2017 CO2-banded system." Cousens highlighted the impact on drivers with older, eco-friendly models, saying: "For those with ageing low-CO2 small family and city cars, the transition to the current standard VED rate could see a hike of £150 or more a year on their motoring tax. "With the average car currently paying £436.84 in fuel duty a year – or £524.21 when VAT is added at the pump – a £150 increase in the VED they will pay represents a 34% hike on top of what they are already paying in fuel duty." Drivers can use WeBuyAnyCar's free online service to quickly find out details about their vehicle, including its engine size, power output, and CO2 emissions. The car valuation provider details: "What's more, if you run the vehicle's plate number through our reg plate checker, we can provide you with the following information in an instant: Year and registration date, Make, model, colour, fuel and transmission type, Engine size (cc), power (kw) and CO2 (g/km), Whether the vehicle is imported," reports the Liverpool Echo. It will also offer insights into "the number of previous keepers – and the date ownership was transferred to the current keeper," plus "tax status, tax due date and MOT history." Typically, your car's registration number can be found on the number plates at the front and back of the vehicle. It can also be located in the vehicle's V5C logbook. The advice for potential buyers of used cars is to note down the registration number and use a licence plate check tool. It said: "If you are thinking about buying a used car, we would recommend making a note of the registration number and running it through our licence plate check tool. This will help to ensure everything meets with your expectations."
Wales Online
03-06-2025
- Business
- Wales Online
How to check using a number plate checker if the £150 DVLA car tax increase affects you
How to check using a number plate checker if the £150 DVLA car tax increase affects you The DVLA car tax is set to increase for some drivers but many are unaware that they will be affected This tool will help drivers determine if the rise affects them Motorists can use a number plate checker tool to see if they will be affected by the DVLA's £150 car tax increase. The AA is warning drivers that the change could have a significant impact on many people's finances. For many drivers, especially those with older fuel-efficient cars, the change in VED could lead to a steep rise in their car tax bill. Experts warn that vehicles registered between 2001 and 2017, which are still taxed under the older CO2-based system, are most at risk for the increase. According to roadside assistance expert Jack Cousens, the changes to Vehicle Excise Duty (VED) could be a "major financial shock" for millions of car owners whose vehicles are still paying VED under the old system. For our free daily briefing on the biggest issues facing the nation, sign up to the Wales Matters newsletter here He said: "VED changes and future increases threaten a major financial shock to the finances of millions of car owners whose vehicles are still paying VED under the 2001-2017 CO2-banded system." Cousens highlighted the impact on drivers with older, eco-friendly models, saying: "For those with ageing low-CO2 small family and city cars, the transition to the current standard VED rate could see a hike of £150 or more a year on their motoring tax. "With the average car currently paying £436.84 in fuel duty a year – or £524.21 when VAT is added at the pump – a £150 increase in the VED they will pay represents a 34% hike on top of what they are already paying in fuel duty." Drivers can use WeBuyAnyCar's free online service to quickly find out details about their vehicle, including its engine size, power output, and CO2 emissions. The car valuation provider details: "What's more, if you run the vehicle's plate number through our reg plate checker, we can provide you with the following information in an instant: Year and registration date, Make, model, colour, fuel and transmission type, Engine size (cc), power (kw) and CO2 (g/km), Whether the vehicle is imported," reports the Liverpool Echo. It will also offer insights into "the number of previous keepers – and the date ownership was transferred to the current keeper," plus "tax status, tax due date and MOT history." Typically, your car's registration number can be found on the number plates at the front and back of the vehicle. It can also be located in the vehicle's V5C logbook. The advice for potential buyers of used cars is to note down the registration number and use a licence plate check tool. Article continues below It said: "If you are thinking about buying a used car, we would recommend making a note of the registration number and running it through our licence plate check tool. This will help to ensure everything meets with your expectations."
Daily Mirror
23-05-2025
- Automotive
- Daily Mirror
Drivers can use this number plate checker to see if they need to pay £150 tax
The DVLA raised VED rates on April 1 for the majority of petrol, diesel, and electric vehicle owners, leading to significant increases for some drivers - Here's how to check if you're affected Car tax went up on April 1 and you can check if you've been impacted by using a simple online tool. The DVLA introduced the latest vehicle excise duty (VED) rates on April 1. VED - more commonly known as car tax - is paid every year and is a legal requirement for all vehicles registered in the UK. Anyone who fails to tax their vehicle on time faces being hit with an £80 fine, as well as voiding their car insurance. You need to pay tax when the vehicle is first registered and this covers the car for the next 12 months. You then pay vehicle tax every six or 12 months after this at a different rate. Cars registered between March 1, 2001 to March 31, 2017 are taxed based on their CO2 emissions. Cars registered on or after April 1, 2017 pay a first-year figure according to their emissions, and this is different for every car this group, then pay the same flat rate going forward. The AA have warned that for many, this will hit wallets hard, with breakdown expert Jack Cousens warning of a "major financial shock". He said: "VED changes and future increases threaten a major financial shock to the finances of millions of car owners whose vehicles are still paying VED under the 2001-2017 CO2-banded system." Cousens noted that those with older, eco-friendlier cars might face a sudden and steep increase in their car tax bills, adding: "For those with ageing low-CO2 small family and city cars, the transition to the current standard VED rate could see a hike of £150 or more a year on their motoring tax." He further underscored the existing pressure on vehicle owners' purses, highlighting the already hefty annual fuel duties faced by drivers before this tax rise. He said: "With the average car currently paying £436.84 in fuel duty a year – or £524.21 when VAT is added at the pump – a £150 increase in the VED they will pay represents a 34% hike on top of what they are paying in fuel duty." Government data reveals that a significant 58% of UK motorists are subject to the older vehicle VED scheme, which is based on CO2 emissions. Motorists can quickly find out their vehicle's engine size (cc), power (kw) and CO2 (g/km) using WeBuyAnyCar's free online number plate checker. The online tool helps drivers calculate how much they'll need to pay for VED over the next year. The number plate checker also provides information on tax status, tax due date, and MOT history. From April 1, rates for cars emitting between one and 50 grams of CO2 per kilometre, including hybrid vehicles, increased from £10 to £110 for 2025-26 for the first year. Similar hikes were introduced for cars emitting 51-75g/km of CO2 ,with the cost going from £30 to £130. The biggest price hike was seen for owners of vehicles that emit 76g/km of CO2 and above going to from £135 to £270. Brits who buy the most polluting petrol and diesel cars (over 255g/km) now need to fork out £5,490 - up from the £2745 before. First-year VED rate for new zero-emission vehicles have remained low at £10 until the 2029-30 tax year - although it is £10 more than what drivers previously paid. From the second tax payment onwards, EV drivers pay the standard rate which is £195.
New York Times
07-05-2025
- Politics
- New York Times
Grassroots footballers protest FA's ban on transgender women: ‘We are determined to keep going'
'Every step we're taking to Wembley, we're showing that even though they might be trying to pull us back, we're moving forward in a way that's united and centring on the joy of football,' Fleur Cousens said, 'and at the core of that is trans joy.' Cousens, the founder of Goal Diggers, a grassroots football club in London, was one of more than 100 people who marched on Monday to protest the Football Association's incoming ban on transgender women playing women's football. Starting from Goal Diggers' training ground in the east of the capital, they made their way to the home of English football to deliver an open letter to the governing body. Influenced by the supreme ccourt's ruling on April 16, when the UK's highest court decided that the legal definition of a woman would be based on biological sex, the FA amended its inclusion policy to exclude all transgender women from women's football from June 1, falling in line with other major sports in the UK. But Cousens and Goal Diggers are demanding that the FA's decision be reversed. 'I wanted to put the 'all' back in football,' Cousens told The Athletic , on mile nine of the 12-mile sponsored walk, which had raised almost £10,000 ($13, 393 at current conversion rates) at the time of publication. Cousens founded Goal Diggers in 2015 with inclusivity at its core. The Hackney-based club, which welcomes non-binary and transgender players, wrote an open letter to the FA with more than 1,600 supporting signatures, within it calling the Supreme Court's decision a 'stain on the country's reputation'. Team members from Goal Diggers and other London clubs had gathered in Haggerston Park and walked to Wembley Stadium, where the FA's offices are located, to deliver their message in person. Cousens said if the FA did not overturn its decision, the club would pull out of any FA-affiliated leagues. 'We don't want to be in any leagues under an umbrella like the FA, which is showing exactly what you should not be doing when it comes to inclusion. It's terrible for so many reasons. It's disgraceful that such a massive decision has been made without talking to the people in the communities that have a lived experience of being in a world that is trans-inclusive,' Cousens said. 'What will happen is so many teams will stop being affiliated with any FA league and just start a different footballing world – one that is better.' In 1921, the FA banned women from playing football, deeming it 'quite unsuitable'. The ban was in place for 50 years, and the women's game has been playing catch-up ever since. 'We're here now in 2025 and they've made another ban,' Cousens said. 'But we will play for the love of the game, we are determined to keep going.' Becky Taylor-Gill, the walk's organiser, said: ' I feel hopeful today and I don't think that hope comes from the FA. That hope comes from the community around us. We had an email from (FA chief executive) Mark Bullingham this morning (Monday) saying he understands our feelings about this, he understands how disappointed our players will be, but he didn't offer any concrete guidance of what will happen next and whether they will overturn it. And so our message stays the same, we want it overturned.' Sammy Rees, a 26-year-old transgender woman, joined Goal Diggers last year and said that five minutes into her first training session, she felt a community's arms wrap around her. At Goal Diggers, where six club members are trans, the doors are firmly open. 'I spent some time playing men's football. But it really wasn't my bag,' Rees said. 'I felt very uncomfortable and it was not the nicest environment for me. Then I joined Goal Diggers and I've never looked back. It's changed my life completely. These people have such open hearts. 'Since coming out, football has been my escape. We (trans people) wake up every day to more disgusting news about us: people vilifying us, people questioning our identity and our existence. Football means that for two or three hours a week, I can switch my brain off. I can have a moment where I don't care about the news. It's my escape, and the fact that it's trying to be taken away from us is not fair.' Rees said she found the supreme court ruling, which is expected to shape UK social policymaking on issues such as public changing rooms and women-only spaces, devastating. In their ruling, the judges stated they were not commenting more broadly on whether trans women are women, adding that it was not the role of the court to adjudicate on the meaning of gender or sex. When announcing the ruling, Lord Hodge stated it should not be taken as a triumph for one group in society. On April 11, the FA updated its policy around transgender athletes, introducing stricter eligibility criteria for transgender women and non-binary players in the women's game. A few weeks later, on May 1, the FA again changed its inclusion policy, saying in a statement: 'Our position has always been that if there was a material change in law, science, or the operation of the policy in grassroots football then we would review it and change it if necessary.' The statement added: 'We understand that this will be difficult for people who simply want to play the game they love in the gender by which they identify, and we are contacting the registered transgender women currently playing to explain the changes and how they can continue to stay involved in the game.' 'It's quite hard to quantify how painful the news has been,' Rees said. 'It's like everything we've worked hard for has been pulled from us. We cried it out as a group (on Thursday). I've had so much solidarity from the team. We're trying to make a point that we're not going anywhere. We're here, we're going to keep playing football, nothing's going to stop that. The FA doesn't own football. You can't stop us.' The past decade has seen 72 transgender footballers take part in grassroots games. Around 20 transgender players playing at the grassroots level of the game are thought to be affected by the new policy. To put that number into context, almost 5.5million women and girls are registered to play football in England. 'There are so many more issues in football we could focus on rather than a group of people who are just trying to get by, trying to do what they enjoy,' Rees said. Paula Griffin, a 60-year-old transgender woman who plays for Goal Diggers, as well as Clapton Community FC, said she was 'stunned and heartbroken' by the FA's May 1 announcement. 'I did a lot of crying. Football was something that's been so good. Something I've loved has been taken away from me. I've been told I can't play football with my friends.' 'It's just so devastating to see how it is affecting people like Paula,' Ally Walker, a player for Collective Joy FC, said. 'The FA are regressing. They're going back on all the progress they've been trying to put forward for the women's game over the last few years. They are throwing all that away by banning women who want to play.' As the group arrived in clusters at Wembley Stadium's steps, Sweet Caroline, the Neil Diamond song adored by England fans, played out on speakers, the mood defiant and positive. Even after 30,000 steps across London, the group's energy was ceaseless. Written onto concrete in chalk were statements like, 'Let the dolls play,' and, 'I love my trans team-mates.' Goal Diggers said they would not stop fighting for trans inclusion in women's football. Many hope there will be more public messages of support from the top end of the women's game. Kerstin Casparij kissed a trans flag on her wrist last month after scoring for Manchester City and her team-mate Katie Startup told The Observer that transgender women 'should have the right and opportunity to access and feel safe in football'. But barring those displays of solidarity, public support from Women's Super League players has been relatively quiet. 'Women's football is such a friendly, queer space,' Taylor-Gill added. 'I would really hope that extends to our trans team-mates in grassroots football. It would be really, really powerful to see some more WSL players stand up for that.' (Top photo: Caoimhe O'Neill/ The Athletic )
North Wales Live
25-04-2025
- Automotive
- North Wales Live
'I used free number plate checker to see if £150 DVLA car tax hike affects me'
New car tax rules have come into force this month that will cost some motorists £150 more a year depending on their choice of vehicle. But with the rules varying depending on the style, age and make of cars, many confused drivers risk being left with a 'shock' increase, according to industry experts. The DVLA introduced the rise in Vehicle Excise Duty (VED) on April 1 that sees some drivers shelling out up to £150 extra annually. This increase affects all car types, including petrol, diesel and even previously exempt electric vehicles (EVs), with the cost impact varying by vehicle type and initial registration date. For vehicles registered between 2001 and 2017, the VED tax will now be calculated based on total emissions, escalating according to the CO2 levels produced. The AA has suggested that these widespread tax changes could lead to a 'major financial shock' for motorists. Jack Cousens from The AA explained: "VED changes and future increases threaten a major financial shock to the finances of millions of car owners whose vehicles are still paying VED under the 2001-2017 CO2-banded system." He further explained the potential burden on drivers: "For those with ageing low-CO2 small family and city cars, the transition to the current standard VED rate could see a hike of £150 or more a year on their motoring tax." Cousens also highlighted the relative increase compared to current expenses: "With the average car currently paying £436.84 in fuel duty a year, or £524.21 when VAT is added at the pump, a £150 increase in the VED they will pay represents a 34% hike (29% with VAT) on top of what they are paying in fuel duty." Government figures show 58% of UK drivers are still taxed based on the older CO2 emissions-based system applicable to earlier models. Car firm WeBuyAnyCar has launched a free online tool for drivers unsure on if or how their cars will be affected by the new tax rates and Manchester Evening News journalist Joshua Boyles tested it out to see what he was now eligible to pay. He explained: "I tried the tool myself, and it's simple to do, and took seconds to bring up the information. My top tip would be to make sure to type your registration plate in without the space in the middle and within a matter of seconds your vehicle's details will pop up. "Among the data, you'll see a figure that states the amount of CO2 your car emits per kilometre. For me, the figure is 141g/km, which means I would be liable to pay £215 of road tax per year if my car were first registered between 2001 and 2017. "Since my car was registered after 2017, I'm only liable to pay the standard rate of VED which has seen an increase from £190 to £195 in the April 1 changes. Additionally, vehicles registered between 1985 and 2001 will see an increase in VED fees of up to £20, calculated based on engine size. You can find a full list of the new VED tax bands on the RAC website." The full list of car tax changes which came in on April 1: The annual standard rate for road tax has increased from £190 to £195. This applies to all vehicles first registered after April 1, 2017, and before March 31, 2025. The road tax exemption that was previously applicable to all electric vehicles (EVs) has been abolished. Now new EVs are now subject to a £10 'showroom tax' in their first year. Meanwhile any EVs registered between April 1, 2017, and March 31, 2025, will have to pay the new standard rate road tax of £195 annually. However, those registered before March 31, 2017, will enjoy a lower annual rate of £20. The £10 discount on the standard rate road tax for alternative fuel vehicles, including hybrid, bioethanol and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) cars, has also been discontinued. These vehicles are now subject to the new standard annual rate of £195. Electric vans haven't escaped the changes either and are now taxed at an annual rate of £355, the same as petrol and diesel light goods vehicles. Additionally, any electric vehicles with a list price over £40,000 will incur an extra £425 per year between the second and sixth years of ownership, a levy known as the 'expensive car supplement.' In an effort to discourage the use of high-polluting vehicles, first-year rates for cars in all other road tax bands, those emitting 76g/km or more, have now doubled. New cars in the highest band, those emitting 255g/km or more, now face a hefty £5,490 tax in their first year. This top rate will affect 59 new models from 24 car manufacturers, including the Bentley Continental W12, Porsche 911 Turbo and Land Rover Defender V8. Elsewhere, at the other end of the scale the tax landscape for low-emission vehicles has also seen some changes. First-year road tax rates for vehicles emitting between 1 and 50g/km of CO2 have risen to £110. Previously, most plug-in hybrids in this band were exempt from first-year road tax, while petrol and diesel cars paid just £10. For new cars emitting 51-75g/km, the first-year road tax has jumped to £135, a significant increase from the previous £20 for hybrids and £30 for petrol and diesel vehicles. However, it's not all doom and gloom. Even under the new rules, there are still some car tax exemptions available: Vehicles with a Statutory Off-road Notification (SORN) won't need to pay road tax for that specific vehicle. Plus, drivers can claim a road tax refund from the DVLA for any full months' tax remaining. Historic vehicles, typically those over 40 years old, may be eligible for road tax exemption. However, this isn't automatic - drivers must apply once their car meets the criteria.
