Great Britain plans vehicle tax for e-cars

More than one million electric cars are already on British roads and 15 per cent of new vehicles sold this year are powered by a battery electric engine. This is certainly good news for greener transport in the UK, but not for the public purse. Because unlike owners of petrol or diesel vehicles, e-car drivers currently pay no tax - which significantly reduces government revenue year on year. 

However, the British Treasury wants to balance the books and is planning tax reforms for the car sector to achieve this. At the moment, there is talk of the future introduction of the first compulsory vehicle tax for electric vehicles in the UK. As early as last year, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Jeremy Hunt, had pointed out that the state would need "new sources of revenue" in the course of the changeover to electric mobility. Now that the number of taxed vehicles is declining significantly, it would be time to take the proposal seriously - Hunt explains. Because with the electric mobility boom, it can no longer be assumed that fuel tax and vehicle tax will continue to bring in around 35 billion pounds a year for the treasury. On the other hand, a reduction of about 2.1 billion pounds by the tax year 2026-27, or about 2.4 billion euros, is to be expected, according to the ministry's calculations. 

A monetary reduction that would be a severe blow to the economy of any state - especially at the time of the recession triggered by the energy crisis. Which poses an even greater risk to the UK, currently rocked by severe political instability. Whether the new tax revenues will get the British economy back on its feet? Too little difference will be made by the tax change, according to critics. The Chancellor of the Exchequer, according to a former Conservative Tory cabinet minister, wants to "plug a hole while he's still digging it". He probably fears, on the other hand, that a higher tax burden on the citizen could only worsen an already strained situation. The time frame for the possible introduction of the new tax obligation for electric vehicles also needs to be clarified. According to forecasts, the entry into force of such an electric vehicle tax is only conceivable from 2025 or 2026.  

In Norway, the government has already announced that the VAT exemption for electric cars will be abolished on 1 January 2023. Will other countries - for example in Europe, where electric mobility is the focus of the transport turnaround - follow the example of the two countries and tax e-cars? In Germany, for example, electric cars are exempt from tax until the end of 2030. Whether the tax breaks for e-car owners will be extended after that date remains as unclear at the moment as the UK's plans.  It also remains unclear whether the e-car boom will be stopped by the abolition of subsidies or whether it will be unstoppable anyway due to the ban on the use of banned cars, the planned zero-emission zones and Euro7.