Britons have reacted with concern to reports that Chancellor Rachel Reeves is considering a new pay-per-mile tax on electric vehicles, which could cost hundreds of pounds a year for most drivers.
One taxi driver told GB News she would be hit hard by the proposed levy and labelled the move “disgusting”.
“It would impact me a lot, mainly because I have a big outlay on the taxi as it is per year, and to increase the electric charge on it is disgusting in my opinion,” she said.
“It’s hard enough to live as it is with everything else that’s going on — shopping, household bills, everything’s going up. So yes, I don’t agree with it at all.”
GB NEWS have reacted with concern to reports that Chancellor Rachel Reeves is considering a new pay-per-mile tax
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GB NEWS
“Well, the trouble is they’re all trying to force you into electric cars, aren’t they?
“To be honest, they obviously put the tax on the electric cars for the actual road tax fund licence, which was free beforehand.
“I guess if you’re a petrol car user like I am, we’re paying it through fuel duty. Do we really recognise it?
“Do we really see it? I suppose we don’t. So there might be a fair case for it, but it seems a bit harsh to me.”
Another added: “I’ve been off electric cars for a while. My latest car was petrol. I’ve tried to get into electric, but just the infrastructure is not there, to be honest.
“In a service station, obviously the charging points there might be ten, but there could be 25 cars, 30 cars waiting for them, and they all take half an hour to charge.
“So it could take three or four hours for your journey. It’s never been a car.
“I might look at a hybrid, but they’re thinking about putting tax on the hybrid as well, aren’t they?
“I don’t think they know where to go. They just keep taxing everyone, everything.”
Another said: !It’s just more tax. That’s all it is. They’re just squeezing you for everything you’ve got.”
The move comes as ministers seek to plug a shortfall in road funding caused by the transition away from petrol and diesel vehicles.
The government is considering a new pay-per-mile tax on EVs, according to The Daily Telegraph.
If implemented, officials could charge drivers 3p per mile, amounting to around £250 a year for the average motorist.
Industry experts have also warned that the added costs and current charging infrastructure challenges could slow the uptake of EVs.