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Government considers network of tolls to plug funding gap

By Tom Gibson | March 29, 2022

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The rise in electric vehicles, which pay no road tax, has given Downing St a headache

Government considers network of tolls to plug funding gap

Back in March of last year, we asked the Government for clarity on how electric vehicles would be taxed as we move towards 2030.

Unsurprisingly, clarification didn’t come but it does seem as though the topic is finally on the agenda.

By our maths, once the sale of vehicles powered by petrol or diesel only in 2030 are outlawed, the Government will have around £40bn to find from alternative methods. This is largely because fuel tax, which raises about 1.2% of national income each year, will stop being a source of income.

And it’s emerged a network of toll roads across the UK is being discussed by ministers as they look at new ways to tax drivers.

There were 380,552 purely electric cars on the UK's roads in 2021, an increase of 281,706 from 2019, according to the RAC.

Currently, the M6 toll road in the West Midlands is the only major road that users have to pay to use and this costs a whopping £7.10 on weekdays for cars and £12.90 for HGVs.

A government spokesman told Sky News: "The government has previously committed to ensuring that motoring tax revenues keep pace with the changes brought about by the switch to electric vehicles, whilst keeping the transition affordable for consumers."

The cross-party Commons transport committee pitched another option last month in which technology would be used to charge drivers a fee based on the distance they have driven, the level of traffic and type of vehicle.

This pay-per-mile charge system could also have wider implications for how you pay for insurance as well as wider car purchasing options.

Let us know what you think about the potential introduction of nationwide tolls in the comments.

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