At the same time, it reminded the committee that EVs will attract car tax from April 2025. However, as in previous correspondence, it made no comment about the future of fuel duty or road pricing.
In response to an enquiry by Autocar, a spokesman said: “We are making sure that motoring tax revenues keep pace with the switch to electric vehicles, whilst keeping it affordable for consumers, and have no plans to introduce road pricing.
With the EV transition accelerating, it’s right that all drivers start to make a fair tax contribution through changes to vehicle excise duty.”
Pay-per-mile road charging alternatives
The Treasury’s, and by extension the government’s, unwillingness to engage with the debate around the future of fuel duty is prompting others to propose their own solutions.
In May, in a document called ‘The future of driving’, the Centre for Policy Studies think tank suggested a ‘pay as you drive’ scheme for zero-emission vehicles.
ZEVs would be charged a flat rate for every mile driven but still pay significantly less than their petrol and diesel counterparts, it said. While everyone would be allocated a set number of tax-free miles a year, the allocation would be higher for those living in remote areas with fewer transport alternatives.
Eventually, as the share of ZEVs on the roads grows, this new per-mile charging system could completely replace fuel duty and vehicle excise duty for all vehicles, the Centre for Policy Studies suggested.
