BRITISH motorists could be taxed for driving in Spain under the terms of a new ‘pay-per-mile’ scheme set to be unveiled at this autumn’s UK Budget.
Chancellor Rachel Reeves is expected to announce a 3p per-mile tariff for British drivers with electric vehicles (EVs) later this month as she seeks to fill a multi-billion pound black hole in her spending plans.
But the levy will even apply when motorists drive their vehicles on foreign roads – with critics branding the move ‘unfair and a huge flaw’.
That means an EV driver on a round road trip from London to Barcelona would have to stump up over €60, without including additional levies applied on foreign roads, such as toll payments on Spain’s autopistas.
Drivers of hybrid vehicles would also be charged, but at a lower rate.
According to a report in the Daily Telegraph, the new pay-per-mile charge will apply from 2028, following a consultation period.
Supporters of the move argue that introducing the tax would be fair as drivers of EVs do not pay fuel duty, unlike drivers of petrol and diesel vehicles.
READ MORE: Spain brings back electric vehicle subsidies of up to €7,000 in new green drive
The Treasury estimates that it will lose up to €13.5 billion in revenue by 2040 as the use of petrol and diesel vehicles declines, and therefore needs to tax EVs to cover the expected shortfall.
But the Society of Motor Manufacturers (SMMT) say a pay-per-mile tax would be ‘the wrong measure, at the wrong time’ as the motor industry looks to transition away from petrol and diesel-powered vehicles.
Paul Barker, of the magazine Auto Express, said charging for travel on foreign roads would ‘clearly be unfair and a huge flaw in the system’.
“It wouldn’t be reasonable to charge drivers for mileage clocked up abroad when they’re not using UK roads or infrastructure, so getting the balance right will be vital to any sort of acceptance by motorists,” he said.
Brian Macdowall, of the Association of British Drivers, slammed the proposed levy as ‘utterly illogical’.
“There is absolutely no justification for introducing an overreaching and bureaucratic charging regime, which is going to seriously inconvenience people,” he added.
A government spokesperson told the Daily Telegraph: “Just as it is right to seek a tax system that fairly funds roads, infrastructure and public services, we will look at further support measures to make owning electric vehicles more convenient and more affordable.”
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This dim wit rachel thieves has not got one single brain cell at all
What is astonishing about this is that only now, some years after the first ev’s appeared on roads, has the government woken up to the loss of income from lower sales of highly taxed fuel. That was totally predictable .So now its time to penalise those ev converts for trying to “save our planet”.