Voters question 'green tax' motives

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On the eve of what is widely predicted to be a "green Budget", some 59% of those questioned in a YouGov survey were sceptical about the Government's anti-pollution justification for taxes on motoring and flying.

Chancellor Alistair Darling is widely expected to use his first Budget to slap a "showroom tax" of as much as £2,000 on gas-guzzling 4x4s, as well as transforming air passenger duty into a tax on flights, in a bid to cut carbon dioxide emissions.

Commentators were divided on whether he would resist pressure from the motoring lobby to scrap a planned 2p rise in fuel duty due to come into effect on April 1, with reports suggesting that he may make a last-minute decision to put it off until the autumn.

But, in another "green" move which could hit consumers in the pocket, the Daily Mail newspaper predicted he would announce a timetable for supermarkets to be required to charge for disposable plastic bags if they do not voluntarily scrap them.

The Chancellor was boosted by an eve-of-Budget poll in The Times newspaper, which put Labour up three points on 34%, the Conservatives down three on 37% and Liberal Democrats up two on 19%, compared to a similar survey last month.

But Wednesday's Budget statement takes place against the gloomiest economic backdrop for more than a decade, with the independent Institute of Fiscal Studies saying that Mr Darling must raise taxes by £8 billion - equivalent to about 2p on income tax - to avoid a black hole in his books.

An interactive poll for The Times Online detected signs that British consumers are beginning to feel the pinch from global financial turbulence.

More than a third of those taking part said they were more worried about losing their jobs, 45% that they were less likely to change their car and 60% of women that they were spending less on clothes.

Some 46% of participants in the YouGov poll for accountants BDO Stoy Hayward said they had no confidence in the Chancellor's ability to steer the UK economy through the current slowdown.