IN THE NEWS
PLAN TO CHARGE MOTORISTS FOR EVERY MILE TO FILL £40BN FUEL TAX HOLE LEFT BY EARLY SWITCH TO EVS
Rishi Sunak is weighing up plans to charge motorists for every mile they drive on Britain’s roads to fill a £40bil- lion tax hole left by the move to electric cars, according to reports. The Times reports that the Chancellor is said to be ‘very interested’ in the idea of a national road pricing scheme - which would steer motorists into a new ‘pay-as-you-drive’ type system. A similar type of scheme was dramati- cally shelved by Labour in 2007 amid uproar that drivers could be charged up to £1.50 a mile. Road pricing in England is currently limited to schemes such as the M6 Toll in the Midlands, the Dartford crossing on the M25, London’s Congestion Zone and a handful of small tunnels and bridges. But a national scheme is now being considered amid fears the switch to electric vehicles will leave a massive tax shortfall because of the hit to key Trea- sury revenue raisers such as Fuel Duty and Vehicle Excise Duty. It came amid reports that Boris John- son wants to accelerate his green plans - including bringing forward a ban on the sale of new petrol and diesel cars to 2030 - as critics claim the PM’s fiancee, Carrie Symonds, an environmental campaigner, is driving the push. A ban on the sale of new petrol and diesel cars will have a massive impact on the Government’s coffers, with VAT on fuel currently generating almost £6billion a year. Fuel Duty, currently charged at 57.95p per litre on petrol and diesel vehicles, is on course to raise £27.5billion this financial year. Meanwhile, Vehicle Excise Duty (VED) - which is charged on the purchase of cars based on their emission levels - is expected to raise £7.1billion. A Government source told The Times that the Treasury had analysed poten- tial options for a national road pricing
102
president of the AA, said such a move would be ‘polit- ical suicide for any party’. A Treasury source told the Times: “The Treasury regu- larly explores lots of different policy options. This is no different.” It came as it was revealed a crackdown on new petrol and diesel cars could come earlier than expected, with Mr Johnson due to outline plans to accelerate his green agenda in the coming days.
scheme as officials try to figure out how to replace lost tax revenues. How- ever, the source said such a scheme was not ‘imminent’. A similar plan was shelved by the Labour government in 2007 amid fears drivers would be billed up to £1.50 a mile. The proposals sparked a massive backlash with almost two million motorists signing a petition against the move. The DfT at the time said it was ‘rubbish’ to suggest the government had ever planned a national road pricing scheme, insisting it had only put in place plans for local tolls. Under the plans, which involved letting local areas set up ‘pay-as-you-go’ net- works, drivers would have paid to install a black box in their cars so they could be monitored by electronic track- ing via satellite or roadside beacons. They would then be charged between 2p and £1.50 per mile depending on the time of day and levels of congestion, in a move that was slammed as ‘stealth tax’ by campaigners. Such a scheme appeared again two years later when The Climate Change Committee, led by former CBI chief Lord Turner, said it wanted ministers to introduce compulsory road pricing to prevent global warming. Speaking at the time, Edmund King,
He stepped up calls for more action last week as he said there is “no time to waste” and called on world leaders to put forward ambitious commitments to tackle the climate change crisis. There is now a growing expectation that the PM will soon announce the Government’s planned ban on the sale of new petrol and diesel cars will be brought forward from 2040. Mr Johnson has already said he would like this to happen by 2035 but insiders believe he will pledge to bring forward the deadline to 2030. Car firms are already preparing for the changes as DfT figures show sales of electric vehicles have rocketed by nearly 170 per cent in the UK this year. Mr Johnson recently promised to set out a ten-point action plan to tackle cli- mate change as he marked one year until Britain hosts the UN COP26 climate summit. The PM’s plan will outline proposed action in areas such as cutting emis- sions from transport, electricity and buildings, and using hydrogen and other new technology. The UK – which has a legal target to cut greenhouse gases to ‘net zero’ by 2050 – is co-host- ing a climate action summit for world leaders next month to bring forward more ambitious plans and set net zero targets ahead of next year’s summit.
DECEMBER 2020
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100 |
Page 101 |
Page 102 |
Page 103 |
Page 104 |
Page 105 |
Page 106 |
Page 107 |
Page 108 |
Page 109 |
Page 110 |
Page 111 |
Page 112 |
Page 113 |
Page 114 |
Page 115 |
Page 116 |
Page 117 |
Page 118 |
Page 119 |
Page 120 |
Page 121 |
Page 122 |
Page 123 |
Page 124
