Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
‘ROAD CHARGES PLAN IS A POLL TAX ON WHEELS’
Motoring groups slam Sunak bid to hit drivers
MOTORING groups have criticised plans to introduce road charges to plug a £40billion black hole caused by a rise in electric cars.
Chancellor Rishi Sunak is reportedly considering the scheme as the switch to green vehicles hammers Treasury revenue from fuel duty.
But AA President Edmund King said: “The Government can’t afford to lose £40bn from fuel duty and car tax. It is always assumed road pricing would be the solution but that issue has been raised every five years since 1964 and is still perceived by most as a ‘poll tax on wheels’.”
Mr King said an
“imaginative solution”, was needed, highlighting a 2017 plan where drivers would receive a 3,000-mile free allowance before any charges were incurred.
RAC head of roads policy Nicholas Lyes said: “As more electric vehicles come to our roads, revenue from fuel duty will decline so it’s inevitable a new system will have to be developed.” Fairfueluk Founder Howard Cox added: “The possibility of road pricing has always proven to be detested. “The Government could face a fierce backlash from the public, small businesses and the haulage industry.” Motorists pay 57.95p in fuel duty for each litre of petrol and diesel they buy – a figure frozen since March 2011. This brings in £28bn a year, according to th e Institut e for
Fiscal Studies, while VAT on fuel and vehicle excise duty also raises funds for the Treasury.
A ban on new petrol and diesel car sales could be brought forward from 2040 to 2030 in a bid to reach net-zero carbon emissions by 2050.
Asked about road charges, Mr Sunak said: “I wouldn’t comment on future fiscal policy but this week the Prime Minister will be publishing our plan for our green revolution.”
But Friends of the Earth said road charges would be a “game changer” in the battle against climate problems.
Its head of science Mike Childs said: “It would show that the UK is serious about fighting the climate crisis.”