On 17/04/2021 16:43, nightjar wrote:
On 17/04/2021 10:28, Robin wrote:
On 17/04/2021 10:06, nightjar wrote:
On 17/04/2021 08:01, Tim+ wrote:
Chris Hogg wrote:
On Sat, 17 Apr 2021 04:42:47 -0000 (UTC), jon wrote:

On Fri, 16 Apr 2021 15:58:46 +0100, Broadback wrote:

Lots of post on them but what do they cost

How is the government going to recover all the fuel tax, when the the
majority of vehicles are electric.

Tax electricity instead.


Unlikely.Â* Too many people bordering on fuel poverty as it is at the
moment
and no way of differentiating consumption.Â* More likely an NZ style
mileage
tax.

I would be surprised if electric vehicles do not have an inbuilt
ability to detect when they are on charge and what rate they are
charging at. If so, the means to measure their electricity use is
already there and just needs to be output.


But involves a challenging job of data and then tax collection;

Not really. It would effectively be a specialised smart meter, fitted to
the car. Payment could be through your electricity bill.

and loses the chance to incentivise reduced and off-peak travel by car.

Assuming that would even be needed. Congestion charges are already an
established way to deal with traffic congestion, while the whole point
of getting people to move to electric cars is the claimed reduction in
pollution.

Plus nerdy issues - eg if you take your EV to Italy, and France and
Italy (or the EU as a whole) have similar taxes.

That could be overcome by allowing the in-car meter to recognise when it
is being charged from a public charging point. That would allow the tax
to be collected at point of sale, with the meter not registering that
electricity charge as taxable. Anybody travelling abroad is likely to be
using public charging points, unless they have a second home. In that
case, a way of detecting which home the vehicle was at would allow the
right electricity bill to be charged.

Given a possible loss of £28bn a year revenue, HMRC will come up with a
way to overcome any obstacles you can think of.


Your faith in HMRC* is touching. Somewhat bemusing given the track
record on e.g. missing trader fraud, personal service companies and
disguised remuneration schemes. Still, touching nonetheless. And a
firm hand at the tiller and clear order "full steam ahead" these days
may well receive the response "Yes, Chancellor, all the obstacles can be
overcome." sotto voce "If you don't mind a re-run of the community
charge."


*tax policy has been the responsibility of HM Treasury since 2005. So
in principle it falls to them to come up with options to fill the gap
left by fuel duties. That said, when things go wrong it's never, ever
the Treasury's fault.

--
Robin
reply-to address is (intended to be) valid