Workers could lose 21 days of income a year due to car tax changes

Tradespeople including builders could lose up to 21 days of income a year due to new car tax changes set to launch at the end of this month. London’s new Ultra Low Emissions Zone (ULEZ) could see staff lose up to four weeks of their salary paying the charges, according to new research by Fix Radio . With the average daily rate for tradespeople at £150, the study claims more than £3,000 will be lost in fees over the course of a year. The daily £12.50 per day ULEZ charge would work out at around £62.50 per working week. Over a working year this could total a staggering £3,150 in a major blow to motorists. Workers may be caught out by new ULEZ fees (Image: Getty) The study found ULEZ will have a ‘direct and detrimental impact’ on around a quarter of construction businesses in Greater London. A massive 21 percent said transportation costs had made travelling into cities with their van an impossibility. This rises to 23 percent for companies based around London with workers feeling under considerable threat by increased fees. Despite the concerns, Mayor of London Sadiq Khan has tried to win over tradespeople as he suggested the new ULEZ scheme could make their lives easier. He stressed traffic levels would be considerably down making travelling to jobs smoother than before. The 52-year-old explained: “The first thing to recognise is, you know, tradespeople are concerned about the amount of congestion on our roads, what we want to do is take off our roads, cars that don’t need to be there. ‘So those people who need to be driving and they include many of your listeners and readers who needs to be driving can do so without being stuck in traffic, actually, by having more people walk, cycle and use public transport, it means less time stuck in traffic and leads to greater productivity.” Khan has also offered extra funds to businesses to help smooth the transition. Earlier this week, he announced an extension of the scrappage scheme with the offer extended from £5,000 to £7,000 per van. ULEZ fees will be expanded at the end of the month (Image: Getty) However, Khan has doubled down on his backing of the scheme which will come into effect on August 29. Khan added: ‘The final point to make is this, if you are a driver, driving a car that has to pay the ULEZ charge, it means you’re driving a vehicle where you’re breathing in more poison then you should be breathing in. ‘So you should want to be driving a cleaner vehicle you should want to be driving a ULEZ-compliant vehicle because it reduces your life expectancy and makes it more likely rather than less likely, you’ll get asthma dementia, heart disease or cancer.’