Motorists with no driveway face 'unfair' '15 per cent' car tax hike
Motorists who do not have a driveway are facing an 'unfair' '15 per cent' car tax hike unless it is stopped by Labour.
At the moment, EV owners pay 20% to charge their cars at a public charging station, however, people with an electric charging point at home only pay 5% VAT.
Conservative Party MP Sir Christopher Chope recently introduced a private member’s bill to Government. He put forward a plan to axe public charging from VAT entirely.
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Currently people charging their vehicles at home have access to the 5% VAT rate due to an HMRC “de minimis” provision. This relates to the supply of small domestic electricity that is “not more than an average rate of 33 kilowatt hours per day or 1,000 kilowatt hours per month”.
The EV charging VAT exemption will be discussed by MPs on June 13. This will be the first opportunity they have had to debate what this means, reports Birmingham Live.
Quentin Wilson, former BBC Top Gear host and founder of FairCharge said: “I ask the Chief Secretary of the Treasury that he must realise, with the UK as the most successful EV market in Europe, the opportunities for growth in the sector are significant.
“But holding that growth back is an archaic piece of tax legislation conceived before the era of electric cars. So many voices are now calling for a cut in the VAT on public charging that the Treasury’s negative response seems almost churlish. We spoke about this unfair tax anomaly before Labour came to power. It’s time for you and I to talk again.”
Matt Galvin, Managing Director, Polestar UK has also demanded fees be immediately cut to help support the electric car transition. We have been calling for VAT on public charging to be brought into line with home charging for some time now. This is an urgent requirement to support EV adoption, particularly to encourage the private buyer, and prevent unfair costs to those without driveways.
“Manufacturers have invested billions of pounds in EV technology to meet mandates and now the industry needs the Government to play their vital role in achieving a net zero car market which is pivotal to improve air quality and slow down climate change.”
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