Controversial plans to make some seniors pay for their vehicle licences have been condemned by one motorist as discriminatory.And a charity for the elderly says it has already received calls from a number of seniors facing huge bills following news of the proposal.On Friday Finance Minister Bob Richards revealed that rules exempting seniors from having to pay for their annual vehicle licence will be amended.“While older motorists with cars in bands A, B, C and D will still enjoy the exemption, those with larger vehicles in bands E, F, G and H will now have to pay.With licence fee increases of three percent also confirmed during Friday’s Budget, seniors who own a Class H vehicle will now be hit with an annual licensing bill of $1,597.Yesterday one senior expressed her anger at the decision and said it suggested that Government was reneging on its pre-election promise to give seniors “a better deal”.The 67-year-old Paget resident, who did not wish to be named, said the plan would wrongly penalise some seniors regardless of their income.“I’m really upset about this; I had a bad weekend thinking about it all the time,” the woman said.“It’s discriminating against some seniors just because they have a bigger car. But the size of your car has nothing to do with whether or not you can afford the licence fee or not.“I don’t have a luxury lifestyle at all and I’m not rich. The only reason I have my current car is because I do a lot of work in the community.“I help out with other seniors who can’t get around and I need a Class F car because it’s handy to transport things in it such as wheelchairs.“I know of people who live in luxury homes, who have rental incomes, they have plenty of assets and yet, because they own a smaller vehicle in Class A or B, they don’t have to pay to get their cars licensed even though they’re better off than me.“Government doesn’t seem to accept the fact that, just because you may have a bigger car, that doesn’t mean you’re wealthy.“It’s unfair to discriminate. It’s not fair that seniors are not being treated equally across-the-board.“I think that all seniors should qualify for the exemption because we have all made significant contributions to this society down the years.“At the same time we have people who are living off financial assistance who have never stepped foot in the workplace. They get everything and live a life of luxury, and yet they haven’t even started to contribute to society.”Yesterday, charity Age Concern said it was not prepared to comment until it had studied the matter more fully.But executive director Claudette Flemming said: “We have received a number of calls from people who have serious concerns. Clearly it’s an area that warrants further discussion.”Government has yet to explain its reason for the new law, but it is understood that the exemption regulations introduced by the Progressive Labour Party in 2007 were being abused to the tune of $17 million in lost revenue.The number of the most expensive Class H licences granted to seniors shot up by 358 percent between 2007 and 2011.As a result, the former administration moved to reinstate the fee for seniors last year, but backtracked following a public outcry.