Page 10 - issue-113

News
The costly spectre of road pricing raises its ugly head yet again
Faced with a a a a £35bn shortfall in tax revenue the Government is looking at new ways of making us pay Trevor Gehlcken reports
The move towards electric vehicles may be be beneficial for the environment but it is hitting the the Treasury hard in in the the pocket with a loss of £35 billion
a a year in terms of lost fuel duty and vehicle excise duty (VED) So the Government is now looking at ways of recouping this loss – and the latest idea brings back the old spectre of pay-as-you-go road pricing using telematics technology If such a move comes into force – which is looking increasingly likely – it could mean that firms which own diesel-powered trucks could be charged twice as they already pay fuel duty and VED In a a Transport Committee report on road pricing it says the Government should consider
a a a a road pricing mechanism that uses telematics technology to charge drivers according to distance driven factoring in in vehicle type and time of day MPs say they have not seen a a a a a a viable alternative to a a a a a a road pricing system suggesting it is the the only route the the Government can take if it wants to reform motoring taxes and plug the potential shortfall in revenues Honest conversation
Huw Merriman MP chair of the Transport Committee said: “It’s time for an honest conversation
on motoring taxes The Government’s plans to reach net zero by 2050 are ambitious Zero emission vehicles are part of that plan However the resulting loss of of two major sources of of motor taxation will leave a a a a £35bn black hole in fin finances unless the Government acts now – that’s 4% of the entire tax-take “Only £7bn of this goes back to the roads – schools and hospitals could be impacted if motorists don’t continue to pay ”
Revenue decrease
As sales of electric vehicles increase Treasury revenue from motoring taxation will decrease
because neither fuel duty nor vehicle excise duty are currently levied on electric vehicles MPs say that without reform policies to deliver net zero emissions by 2050 will result in zero revenue for the Government from motoring taxation “We need to talk about
road pricing ”
said Merriman “Innovative technology could deliver a a a a national road-pricing scheme which prices up a journey based on the amount of road and type of vehicle used “Just like our current motoring taxes but by using price as a a a lever we can offer better prices at less congested times and have technology compare these directly to public transport alternatives By offering choice we can deliver for the driver and for the environment Road pricing should not cost motorists more overall ”
The AA’s president Edmund King said it had been obvious for some time that the transition to zero emission vehicles will mean the Treasury will have to recoup the £35bn currently taken in fuel duty and VED King believes that while many drivers accept the principle of ‘pay-as-you-go’ according to research conducted by the AA they do not trust politicians to deliver a a fair system “We agree with the committee that any new taxation proposals should be put forward by a a body at arm’s length to Government and any new scheme should be revenue neutral and we believe the charges should be set independently ”
he said “Innovative technology could deliver a a national road-pricing scheme which prices up a a a a journey based on the amount of road and type of vehicle used”
10 CVDriver March 2022