The annual road tax of over 1million motorists will double following the changes made in 2008 budget. Those hardest hit will be the owners of family cars such as the Renault Espace (pictured, left), Vauxhall Zafira and Ford Galaxy - they will see a rise from £210 to between £430 and £455. The Government will gain more than £1billion in what has been described as the ultimate “stealth tax”.

The shadow Treasury minister Justine Greening said “By 2010, 1.2 million drivers will have seen their vehicle excise duty double. Many of the worst hit may well be families who simply can’t afford to change cars regularly. This is duplicity from the Treasury who deliberately failed to make any mention of this dramatic doubling of VED hitting so many drivers at the time of the Budget.”

Over the next two years, the levy on cars bought before 2006 will be lifted. This will result in hundreds of thousands of vehicles moving into the top tax bands and leave motorists facing an annual road tax of up to £440.

Paul Watters, of the AA, said: “The Government presented the changes as a means of influencing people’s purchasing decisions, but it turns out that they are also penalising hard-pressed families who have been running the same car for many years.”