Electric cars. And tax?

[Soulboy]

I am wondering how quickly the govt will find a new way to tax driving, with the mass exodus to electric vehicles just over the horizon?

Fuel duty ain't going to bring in anything like the £££s it does now. 

So how will the govt decide to tax driving? And how quickly will they change things? 

[CarMad]

They have already done it, a default tax rate for cars up to £40k of £140 a year and for cars over and many Hybrids and Luxury cars regardless of emissions its another £310 a year on top for the first 5 years of the life of a car. 

So a Tesla will be £450 a year from now on.

Very very few ultra low emission cars get any really low rate these days.  

[Booster]

I think Soulboy is talking about the tax on fuel. What is it at the moment? 70% of what you put in your tank is tax?

They can’t put 70% on electricity prices so how are they going to do it? I’ve had this conversation with a lot of people in the motor trade and no one has an answer.

[E-bmw]

Tax/mile applied at MOT/sale time.

When you do your MOT the station inputs the mileage, you then get a tax bill.

When you sell the car you have to put on the mileage it is sold at, you get a tax bill.

A couple of simple additions to software/UI & both can happen.

[patently]

This was raised as an issue right at the start of the "green taxes" concept; that say (for argument's sake) the green taxes work, and people shift their behaviour in response, in order to minimise their tax bill.  The HMG's revenues fall, and either (i) HMG reduces its scope in order to stay within its newly reduced means, or (ii) HMG slaps taxes on the green activities as well. 

Now, (i) has never happened in the history of ever.  So we can confidently predict (ii). In which case, all the smug "I've saved loads of tax by having a shitty car instead of a nice one" faces get wiped off as their owners realise that they've been had. 

At the time, this was dismissed as being silly because HMG and HMRC were lovely people with only the long-term interests of the planet at heart and would never do that.

[garcon magnifique]

37 minutes ago, patently said:

At the time, this was dismissed as being silly because HMG and HMRC were lovely people with only the long-term interests of the planet at heart and would never do that.

[garcon magnifique]

No government has ever taxed something with the intention of stopping people doing it.

[E-bmw]

Correct, they know you still will & that is the whole point.

[Ian_C]

9 hours ago, E-bmw said:

Tax/mile applied at MOT/sale time.

When you do your MOT the station inputs the mileage, you then get a tax bill.

When you sell the car you have to put on the mileage it is sold at, you get a tax bill.

A couple of simple additions to software/UI & both can happen.

Oh, great!  Would just re-ignite the car clocking black market,  By coincidence I was only just catching up on latest on the North America Ferrari lawsuit onclocking cars for certain clients!

[CarMad]

They will start increasing road tax, purchase tax on cars is already going up and maybe car exchange tax maybe. 

They will find a way, my first post points to the fact that they are already moving away from a measure (CO2) that saw them lose revenue. They won't want to lose £37+Bn in car tax revenue lets be honest. 

[NewNiceMrMe]

I'm surprised nobody has mentioned something else.

Disposal tax.

That is a given with electric vehicles.  

[eldavo69]

They’re trying to tax people who charge their cars up at work as a benefit-in-kind. 

[billy2shots]

Didn't JC and Labour want to nationalise the energy companies. Plenty of profits made by said companies plus more to be made if you push everyone to go electric. No need for tax if that materialises. 

[patently]

4 hours ago, billy2shots said:

No need for tax

We don't get taxed because they need to.  We are taxed because they can.

[cruiser647]

6 hours ago, billy2shots said:

No need for tax if that materialises. 

We are not citizens of Brunei.  

A disposal tax would limit the second hand car price,  but then again, they won't care as long as it is paid.

Would certainly limit the desirability in the market.  Car companies will need to do something about the disposal of.

 

Also, city councils might bring in more congestion charging zones and/or no private vehicle zones and they will probably charge all vehicles entering them depending upon the hours.

 The irony being they'll allow busses, coaches, taxis and delivery vehicles in - which are usually the most polluting.