Environmental Impact of the New Policy
Published Oct 16th, 2022.
If you were not aware, ICBC has implemented a new method for calculating the transfer tax on used vehicles. Please see my first blog, or the home page for a summary of the changes. When the new policy was first reported early 2022, one of the first thoughts to strike me was how maintainers are going to be priced out when repairing broken, less expensive vehicles.
One of the most underrated concerns of this new policy is the negative environmental impact it will have on our province. As vehicles age they deviate from the average black book prices. What I have noticed from my experience appraising vehicles is around the ten year mark, the average deviation significantly increases. This is mostly due to factors that include, warranties expiring and transfer of maintenance responsibilities. The new taxation policy requires vehicle buyers to obtain an appraisal for all vehicles that are in less than average condition. Which is very common for non-new vehicles!
The negative environmental impact this new policy has is reducing the reparability of older vehicles. Maintainers who risk their capital to buy cheaper vehicles and perform needed maintenance to keep it roadworthy are now significantly and directly impacted by this new policy. The province has decided their services are not appreciated and disincentive their contributions through the new policy and fees. The problem here is that non-dealer, local maintainers, mechanics and repairers are the cornerstone of a functioning and effective community. They are essential to supporting the transportation needs that so many others rely on.
Ultimately this increases the risk and price that maintainers charge to repair a vehicle. This results in two situations:
Passing the price onto the consumer. We do not need more fees for older, highly worn vehicles! This tax directly impacts individuals who can pay it least!
Disposing / recycling the vehicle. Many vehicles will be priced out and will be disposed of before reaching their reasonable life expectancy. Negatively impacting the environment, pushing consumerism for new vehicles, and increasing the prices of older, used vehicles.
The province needs to reexamine this policy and how damaging it is. Get back to the basics, reduce, reuse and recycle. Stop taxing us for wanting to buy and use an older vehicle. Meanwhile the tax breaks are going to the 50k+ electric vehicles that are not contributing to road tax, but more on that later.
Coming next I am working on a generic template that lists the problems with the new tax policy. It can be addressed to your MLA so you can quickly and effectively email or mail your complaint!
Thanks for reading this Blog.
Sincerely,
Deal Team Six Automotive Appraisals.