Letter

[Dav00]

/\ just my tuppence worth: tolls from the north to the south of France are well over €70 from what I recall. Do that a few times in a year and that’s easily going to exceed what we pay for VED in the UK. Using toll roads all the time there (which you kind of have to really unless you want to take slow scenic routes !)? That’s surely got to be hundreds of euros a month? I think we’re relatively lucky here in the UK.

True, but
a) those are not toll roads, they re toll motorways - real motorways. Also, the model/toll level raises objections as well.
b) the mix of charges and taxes are different. I don't like it anyway, but it's different. You can't take one in isolation from the others.
c) there are valid and reasonably priced alternatives to cross country travel, mainly high speed rail services, and there is a decent network of national roads you can use to some extent as an alternative to motorways.

[RichR]

Which of the 180+ countries in the world charge road infrastructure per mileage, and how? Also, what is the combination of taxes motorists pay directy or indirectly?

Off the top of my head, Iceland charges mileage for EVs to make up for what they're not getting from the fuel pumps - owners submit mileage readings annually. Australia and New Zealand tax non-petrol cars by the kilometre, and have done for a long time. You can read more about how it works here: https://www.aa.co.nz/cars/owning-a-car/ ... arges-ruc/ and here https://www.nsw.gov.au/driving-boating- ... ser-charge - there used to be a big market for devices that stop the odometer from showing your true mileage to cheat this.

It's an option, but not one the UK government has chosen to use at this point.

[Dav00]

Off the top of my head, Iceland charges mileage for EVs to make up for what they're not getting from the fuel pumps - owners submit mileage readings annually. Australia and New Zealand tax non-petrol cars by the kilometre, and have done for a long time. You can read more about how it works here: https://www.aa.co.nz/cars/owning-a-car/ ... arges-ruc/ and here https://www.nsw.gov.au/driving-boating- ... ser-charge - there used to be a big market for devices that stop the odometer from showing your true mileage to cheat this.

It's an option, but not one the UK government has chosen to use at this point.

Exactly: only two remote and isolated sides of the anglosphere and an another island with a population the size of Stoke-on-Trent. It's not a remarkable coincidence.

PS: viewtopic.php?t=2867

[ricky10]

I don’t mind paying VED. But I don’t agree with the fact that some ICE cars will only pay £30/year while ZEV paying £190 regardless.

[CrowSysE243]

I don’t mind paying VED. But I don’t agree with the fact that some ICE cars will only pay £30/year while ZEV paying £190 regardless.

Only cars registered before 1st April 2017 will have VED other than the standard rate (currently £190 but could change in the budget). ZEV registered between 1st March 2001 and 31st March 2017 will be charged VED at the band B rate (currently £20) together with vehicles with CO2 levels up to 110 g/km. This is the lowest rate for vehicles registered in this period. Vehicles registered in this period and having CO2 levels above 140 g/km will pay more than the standard rate. Vehicles having CO2 levels 130 g/km or less will pay below the standard rate. Vehicles registered before 1st March 2001 pay VED based on engine size. All the rates are higher than the standard rate. Historic vehicles can be exempted from "Vehicle Tax" ( terminology used by .gov.uk website)

[Aragorn]

This change was announced about a year ago by the previous government, its not news at this point.

Back in 2017 they already ditched the emissions banding, All ICE vehicles from 2017 onwards pay a flat £180 a year in VED regardless of engine size/emissions. EV's were exempt, but that has now been removed and they will fall in line with their ICE counterparts. EVs after 2017 will pay £180 just like every other car. EV's before 2017 will fall into "Band B" of the emissions based scheme and pay about £20 a year. Any ICE's in band A are also being moved to band B.

Retax your car in March to eeke out the maxium free period.

[RichR]

Indeed - it was in the 2022 (Conservative government) Budget. Things like this take years to go through Parliament and turn into something that the relevant Department can action. Then they have to update all their systems, paperwork and so on to handle the change. It's not a sudden decision by the current (Labour) government.

By pure chance, I'll be changing my just over 3 year old Enyaq for a new one in January (hopefully), so that'll start just before the new bands come into effect. However, paying a couple of pounds a month to be able to drive an almost £60,000 car really isn't a big deal for me.

[RichR]

Just spotted in the news this morning that Iceland currently has a bill going through Parliament at the moment to scrap tax on petrol/diesel and move those vehicles over to charging per kilometre as well as electric vehicles. They will have bands based on vehicle weight - so in effect if you have a heavy vehicle and do a lot of miles, you will pay more towards the upkeep of the roads. If you have a small car and only pop to the shops in it, you won't pay much. The bands will be set so that the average consumption car doing the average yearly distance will pay about the same as they do now through the fuel taxes. Which actually seems a very fair way of doing things.

Story (in Icelandic): https://www.mbl.is/frettir/innlent/2024 ... lra_okuta/

All countries are going to have to work out what works best as the source of power for vehicles changes. And yes, it's smaller countries like Iceland that are likely to be more agile about this kind of thing. However mileage charges do exist in many larger countries (and for commercial vehicles in quite a lot).

[Decide]

5.87 VED Expensive Car Supplement – The government recognises the
disproportionate impact of the current VED Expensive Car Supplement threshold
for those purchasing zero emission cars and will consider raising the threshold for
zero emission cars only at a future fiscal event, to make it easier to buy electric cars

[Martin26]

5.87 VED Expensive Car Supplement – The government recognises the
disproportionate impact of the current VED Expensive Car Supplement threshold
for those purchasing zero emission cars and will consider raising the threshold for
zero emission cars only at a future fiscal event, to make it easier to buy electric cars

As I understand it, the expensive car supplement (for EVs) applies to the second year tax for cars bought on or after 1st April 2025 - so the supplement will only get paid from April 2026 onwards. So this is sort of implying that NEXT year's budget might increase the threshold for EVs so that anyone buying on or after 1st April 2025 may end up avoiding this supplement - but they could, of course, "consider raising the threshold" with their considerations resulting in deciding NOT to increase the threshold at all.

So all in all, there is no firm commitment to anything at all.