A 6p-per-mile road tax on electric cars should be introduced to avoid a “massive black hole” in tax revenues, ministers have been urged.
Not going to be cheaper any more, are they?
A 6p-per-mile road tax on electric cars should be introduced to avoid a “massive black hole” in tax revenues, ministers have been urged.
Not going to be cheaper any more, are they?
We were all just waiting for the other shoe to drop…
You think that’s bad.
Just wait until you see what the fuel duty goes up to “pour discourager les plebs”.
80k miles to break even financially
350k to break ven on environemtal impact
Just why is the govt so wedded to EVs?
Beats me
I’m reminded of the Excellent ‘Bloke in Spain’ who makes the observation (and I know this isn’t a Ragging on Ritchie post) that it’s Murphy’s world and we merely live in it.
These rapacious bastards should ideally be looking to massively shrink the state down to essentials – but instead they keep grabbing more and more. I’d call them parasites but that’s too generous – a successful parasite doesn’t kill its host.
And, of course, they’ll have to track every movement of your vehicle in order to levy said tax. Fortunately, the Gov’t would never use such info in a way that would infringe on our freedom.
” . . . to avoid a “massive black hole” in tax revenues . . .”
Shows you exactly what will happen with a carbon tax – but that’s different because ♪ la la la la la ♫ reasons.
Apparently, “parasitoid” is the word you’re looking for. A parasite that kills its host.
– a successful parasite doesn’t kill its host.
Many (most?) parasites kill their hosts. It’s parasite species killing the host species that doesn’t work.
Let’s massively increase the cost of energy, transportation and food while simultaneously flooding the country with millions of people we have no plans to build infrastructure for.
Vote Conservative.
To fill a “black hole” in tax receipts why not hit all those tax-dodgers who “work from home”? The so-and-sos are avoiding VAT, petrol duty, and other imposts and enjoying higher after-tax incomes. It really won’t do. Tax the blighters.
Global warming is an obsession largely confined to the rich Christian West. Asians, Africans and Arabs really aren’t that bothered.
It’s a re-run of the end of days nonsense that was all the rage at the end of the first millennium. Trouble is that according to Norman Cohen (The pursuit of the millennium) sanity only returned by about 1035 -1037, so we’ve likely got a while to go yet with this crap.
By the by, has everyone seen the Glasgow Lez fines? Geometric Progression made flesh.
https://dailysceptic.org/2023/05/31/glasgow-low-emission-zone-bans-older-cars-from-city-centre-and-penalties-are-huge/
Dearieme – how long do we reckon till the LEZzies ban electric cars?
It has always struck me that politicians can’t seem to leave anything alone. They must think they have to be seen to be doing something. On EVs, road pricing was always going to happen. Does anyone remember Tony Bliar and his push for road pricing? The problem was, and is, that the infrastructure required to monitor millions of journeys is probably beyond beyond TPTB, who can’t even organise a drinking session in a brewery – witness the e-gate passport debacle last weekend.
Back to the sedan chair Steve??
Good Q, Steve. Maybe when they realise that the fumes emitted by burning batteries are a wee bit noxious?
Mind you I can’t see a great future for EVs in any city dominated by flat-dwellers who are bound to have trouble charging. Frinstance, Glasgow or Edinburgh. Ditto any city dominated by terraced housing e.g. great chunks of London.
Personally I am joining the “Come the Revolution, brothers” tendency. I want the eco-freaks exposed to machine-gunners, or your favoured lions, in just the same way as the Covid dictators.
Stage 2 will see different rates depending on the type of miles travelled. Approved miles such as taking the kids to drag queen story time will be taxed less, driving to a football match more, McDonald’s drive thru punitively. The great and good doing great and good works (for you) will be exempt
@ Boddicker
They always are exempt (from paying it themselves): it’s called an expense account.
https://cardealermagazine.co.uk/publish/29-of-top-30-biggest-used-car-price-drops-in-last-six-months-are-electric-vehicles/284860
(Hat tip to a commenter at Not A Lot Of People Know That.)
Philip – very bold of you to assume we are as rational, honest or sane as the average hetman or caloyer in 8th century Dark Ages Europe.
If our ancestors could see us now they would strangle us in shame.
Bboy – or, perhaps, chariots?
Dearieme – from your lips to the celestial ear of the Pantokrator.
I had missed this –
CEO of world’s largest carbon credits company steps down after investigation reveals it’s mostly a SCAM
http://www.stationgossip.com/2023/05/ceo-of-worlds-largest-carbon-credits.html
“ 80k miles to break even financially”
Demands for massive increases fuel duty to ensure milk floats remain the cheaper option in 3 …. 2 ….. 1 ….
Not going to be cheaper any more, are they?
Petrol price is more or less back where it was before the start of the Ukraine war, but electricity is 3x the price it was (if you’re lucky), which already means EVs aren’t much cheaper (unless you believe the claims of lower maintenance costs).
@ Chris Miller
Since the EVs are dependent on generation by the marginal electricity producer, which is usually a *coal-fired* power station, I have absolutely *no* sympathy when the subsidy-junkies get shafted thus. EVs have never yet been a way to reduce emissions in the present time, just a hope that a future development will make them a means, sometime in the future, to reduce emissions *then*.
I predict that they will talk themselves into further subsidies to promote their business.
If Elon Musk wants to spend a few of his $billions on developing EVs, good luck to him, but I see no reason why we should subsidise Tesla/him.
How about not pissing money up the wall? Black hole solved.
So
EVs are not green
Factories are being built to build them, that would not have been needed if we carried on with ICE
Factories are being built to build the batteries, also not required hitherto
Charging points…electrical distribution upgrades .. infrastructure upgrades(because of weight)… Greater use of materials mostly from dubious places on the world … more electrical generating capacity…
How is all this increased industrial activity in the slightest bit green or sustainable?
Most of it is only required to support EVs
Has anyone estimated the difference between the transition to EVs and just carrying on with modern fuel efficient and relatively clean ICE?
Completely barking mad
@Yet Another Chris – “the infrastructure required to monitor millions of journeys is probably beyond beyond TPTB”
It’s pretty simple. Every vehicle must have a device that frequently reports its position and usage. New vehicles will be connected anyway as part of a scheme to report crashes (for your own benefit, of course), so it’s a very small step to have them report in routinely. From that data you can be charged. Who cares if the data is a bit inaccurate – just think of all that lovely tax.
@ starfish
In theory EVs are green, just not in current reality. When the world has sufficient battery storage so that it can rely on solar and wind-power (for avoidance of doubt this will never be possible without battery storage – I’ve spent most of a winter in Siberia and there was no wind at all 90+% of the time). Meantime I am quite happy for Elon Musk to fund research into EVs with his money. just not with mine or that of other British taxpayers.
Jeremy Cunt or John Cleese?
I’m guessing my local Romanian BMW drivers will continue to drive around without any additional imposts from The Treasury?
Don’t want to piss of the Eurocrats or some such shite.
A road tax is a very stupid thing.
As I believe I’ve said before, the answer is a tyre tax. The amount might well vary with expected life of the tyre.
It works for all types of vehicle.
It’s just extra sales tax/VAT so all mechanisms for collection are in place already.It’s hard to forge tyres.
Good God – what am I doing????
Nah, because they’d either just import the damn things through the back door of the ports (the number of containers that actually get inspected is small and pretty random) or worse, they’d have black market businesses to remould tyres so they look like new but ain’t.
Black market remoulds are even worse than black market new tyres since they have an annoying habit of sloughing off the surface layer (like a snake sloughing off its old skin) when the rubber gets too hot or grip demands exceed the strength of the remould.
Tyre taxes would only work in a high trust economy like Japan. We haven’t been like that for a long time.
Roads wear out
Tyres wear out
No way am I convinced that the harms or costs from these things are equal.
Imagine a bicycle chain set : in what world would you expect chain wear to be equal to the wear on the cogs? Or for ramblers, the wear on their shoes to be equal to the wear on the paths.
So work it out engineers, and tax accordingly on the polluter pays principle. In other words charge for road use as those few daring politicians have suggested.
They shouldn’t be putting a tax on EV cars. Well not yet. Too early. They need to wait till people are committed to EVs and there is no choice before imposing the tax. Now is too early to even mention it because it will scare off people who might get EVs.
@Sadbutmadlad
Sure you might scare people away now, but when they outlaw non-EVs, you won’t have a choice but buy one of their shitty milk floats.
@charles
Telematics black boxes already exist
The infrastructure for data uploads and downloads from/to cars already exist
It’s easy to implement
@BlokeInTejas
You do *not* want a tyre tax. Tyres can be optimised for endurance, but this comes at a cost of lower performance. That’s why Formula 1 cars go through tyres so quickly. It would be disastrous to provide a strong incentive for people to drive on public roads with barely adequate tyres.