Electric Car Owners To Pay Road Tax?

[barry1010]

Can we believe the DM? https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11418155/Owners-emission-free-vehicles-pay-tax-time-bid-plug-7-billion-shortfall.html

Of course it can't apply retrospectively, those already with an electric car won't be paying until they buy a new car.

Can it be true? Would it put you off buying a new electric car?

[davebro]

//Of course it can't apply retrospectively, those already with an electric car won't be paying until they buy a new car.//

It's not retrospective if they say "From Jan 1 2023 you have to pay road tax on existing electric cars."

[Hopkirk]

It was always going to happen. If it does now it will be surprisingly early.

[barry1010]

Can they do that, though? My old banger of a diesel has very low road tax because of the class it was in when I bought it. If I bought a similar new car today the road tax would be a lot more. It can only increase in line with inflation, they can't change the tax band.

[emmie]

why should electric cars be exempt?

[davebro]

^^^ I don't see why not. Did they say - your car will stay in this tax band for ever. Or the price of each tax band will never change?

[barry1010]

Because the government said that electric cars won't pay road tax - or vehicle excise duty to give it its proper name.
Currently the amount paid is dependent on the amount of emissions and electric cars don't expel emissions.

[barry1010]

Currently cars do stay in their tax band for the life of the car.

[davebro]

//electric cars don't expel emissions//

No - their emissions are expelled at a remote location!

[davebro]

"Currently" agreed lots of things happen currently - they can be changed in future.

[ZebuSanctuary]

The government's approach was to incentivise motorists to go green. Therefore encouraging the purchase of an electric vehicle in exchange for an exemption on road tax.

Was this scheme (admirable some may say) not paradoxical thinking by the government?

Our roads and highways need constant repair and maintenance. Does not a one tonne electric Chelsea tractor cause just as much wear and tear of the road surface, as its internal combustion counterpart?

When vehicle road tax was introduced, was it not solely for the purpose to fund the upkeep of our roads? Surely vehicle emissions was not a factor then?

[Gromit]

// why should electric cars be exempt? //

It is an incentive to encourage people to buy cleaner less polluting cars.
As with all Government bribes, it is on the whim of the issuer when they decide they don’t want to do it anymore.
It would certainly be a bad move to withdraw the incentive so early. The Government have emission targets they have signed up to, and this way make meeting those targets more difficult.
The Tory party as usual is split (as they are on most things). The right wing don’t want any green policies and are quite happy to continue polluting. What Sunak eventually does will be telling, about who he is trying to please.

[davebro]

The current organisation (if you can call it that!) of VED is a complete dog's breakfast & could do with serious rationalisation/simplification. Has any other country ended up with such an unholy mess? I doubt it.

The only concession I would allow electric vehicles is for charging zones in city centres where serious air pollution is an issue.

[ZebuSanctuary]

// The only concession I would allow electric vehicles is for charging zones in city centres where serious air pollution is an issue. //

I endorse that!

[webbo3]

Studies have forecast that the switch could eventually cost the Treasury £7 billion in lost VED, along with a further £27 billion a year in fuel duty unless taxes are introduced to cover electric vehicles.

Treasury sources said there were no plans to introduce road pricing
at this stage.

So there are no plans to introduce road pricing then.

[theshedman]

My son has same car as me but 3 years older. He pays £20 tax but I have to pay £165. Both have same engines and as mine is 3 years newer than his you would have thought mine has slightly better emissions.

[youngmafbog]

//Currently cars do stay in their tax band for the life of the car.//

Dont give them ideas!

But on that subject the price in the band doesnt stay the same does it so all they would be doing here is saying this band currently 0 is now £20 or whatever.

[davebro]

My idea would be to have 3 groups - Electric / Hybrid / Fossil fuel.

In each group there would be 3 or 4 rates of VED based purely on vehicle weight. Simples.

[Old_Geezer]

Road Fund Licence should be paid by all users equally. No one should be given unfair concessions. With rumours of possible blackouts this winter, no one should be buying electric cars yet.

[youngmafbog]

Quite, using tax for push an agenda is wrong.

Look at all the poor diesel owners after being pushed to buy one.

[davebro]

Yeah - but currently you can have a diesel owner paying £20 or £165 or £300/£400. It's totally unfair.