Road tax -no savings with EV after all

Well I've driven an EV for 7 years without paying any tax, so they WERE exempt. Nothing stays the same (as older people we already know that).

Surely no one doubted that sooner or later electric cars were bound to be taxed. Be thankful that it is as far away as 2027.

Motorists using convenytionally fuelled cars make a substantial contribution to the nations bank account through Road fund licence, fuel tax etc. If this money is lost, it has to be replaced, the obvious source is electric cars.

Yes, but we have been saving for all the previous years that we've owned them, and continue to save by not having to buy petrol or diesel in the future. The cost of paying for the electricity is so much less than for other fuels.

Good point granfromafar. I only bought mine in March this year and I've saved a heck of a lot driving round and spending a month in France.

M0nica

Surely no one doubted that sooner or later electric cars were bound to be taxed. Be thankful that it is as far away as 2027.

Motorists using convenytionally fuelled cars make a substantial contribution to the nations bank account through Road fund licence, fuel tax etc. If this money is lost, it has to be replaced, the obvious source is electric cars.

Exactly.

EV cars use the roads. Think of it as payment for the roads upkeep.

Always thought they pay some form of Road Tax, they use the roads.
They contribute to the general wear and tear of the road infrastructure same as any car.

Electric cars actually cause far more potholes and damage to the road than conventional cars, so it seems only fair that road tax is paid on them.
Some multi storey car parks are also at risk as they were not designed to take the extra weight of EVs

Seems sensible that all vehicles that use the roads pay road tax although by the state of the roads you wouldn't think anyone did. I don't particularly agree with the expensive car supplement. Expensive cars do not use the roads any differently from cheaper ones, so why are they taxed more?

It was an incentive to encourage people to buy EVs - like an introductory offer.
Those days are gone!

rosie1959

Seems sensible that all vehicles that use the roads pay road tax although by the state of the roads you wouldn't think anyone did. I don't particularly agree with the expensive car supplement. Expensive cars do not use the roads any differently from cheaper ones, so why are they taxed more?

Presumably because they think if you can afford the car, you can afford the cost.
It didn’t make sense to me either and I didn’t find any explanation.

It's the list price, not the cost price that shoves cars into the luxury tax bracket, so beware if you buy at a discount you may have to pay the extra tax.
Road tax goes into the general tax pot and isn't solely used for road maintenance.

OldFrill

It's the list price, not the cost price that shoves cars into the luxury tax bracket, so beware if you buy at a discount you may have to pay the extra tax.
Road tax goes into the general tax pot and isn't solely used for road maintenance.

There is no such thing as 'road tax', it hasn't existed for decades (since 1937 ).

www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-41212379

OldFrill is right...

I think the principle of taxing vehicle owners is okay because they use the roads, and it doesn’t really matter if the payment goes directly towards maintaining roads or not. Government funds roads, whether directly or indirectly, I just wish they would allocate more funding to bring them back up to scratch - what I really object to is vehicles being damaged, and accidents caused, due to potholes.

MaizieD

OldFrill

It's the list price, not the cost price that shoves cars into the luxury tax bracket, so beware if you buy at a discount you may have to pay the extra tax.
Road tax goes into the general tax pot and isn't solely used for road maintenance.

There is no such thing as 'road tax', it hasn't existed for decades (since 1937 ).

www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-41212379

OldFrill is right...

I simply used "road" tax instead of "vehicle" tax as it's in the OP's title. Many folk still think it's used for road maintenance.

With all the potholes around that account must be building up nicely. 😂

Old Frill I never gave it a thought. We usually call it car tax.

rosie1959

Seems sensible that all vehicles that use the roads pay road tax although by the state of the roads you wouldn't think anyone did. I don't particularly agree with the expensive car supplement. Expensive cars do not use the roads any differently from cheaper ones, so why are they taxed more?

Exensive cars are usually bigger and heavier than other cars so cause more damage to the roads, in the same way electric cars with their very heavy batteries do.

They are also too big for many car park spaces and make manouvreing round car parks much more difficult for those of us with more modestly sized cars.

The incentive has turned round now, taxation on new petrol cars has been increased, particularly large ones

This Labour government is taxing as many things as it can. It's a disgrace

sazz1

This Labour government is taxing as many things as it can. It's a disgrace

It’s a problem if you said you wouldn’t raise taxes.
But like every government I’ve known, they’ve been left with a terrible amount of debt by the previous government, of which they were unaware whilst in opposition.

sazz1

This Labour government is taxing as many things as it can. It's a disgrace

We demand a better NHS, better care services, cleaner water, now the US wants to stop defending Europe, so higher defence spending, yes taxes are going to rise.

The sooner we accept that the better.

I'm not entirely convinced by the black hole story. Public finances are public documents available to Parliament. On the EV point if you can afford a new EV you can afford the tax.

Grantanow
I agree about if you can afford a new EV you can afford the tax. afford the tax,
But EV’s double selling points were that you were nobly saving the planet and saving some money on tax for yourself.
Both of those statements are now either questionable or wrong.