Clarification on RAC position regarding pay-per-mile taxation following inaccurate media report

We’d like to clarify our comments about a pay-per-mile tax system following an inaccurate media report which implied we were suggesting an additional tax on drivers.

As more electric vehicles come on to the road, a replacement tax system will be needed to ensure the Government doesn’t lose too much money and that EVs pay for their use of the roads. We have said consistently that whatever any new taxation system looks like, the most important thing for us is that it’s simple and fair to drivers of both conventional and electric vehicles. We don’t want to see any additional taxation of drivers.

We’d also like to point out that fuel duty – currently 53p a litre – is already effectively a tax per mile for drivers of petrol and diesel vehicles, the only variable is how fuel efficient a car is. As fuel duty isn't printed on receipts, it’s not very obvious how much tax we're paying every time we fill up. At the moment we calculate a driver with a 40mpg car is paying 6p per mile in fuel duty, but crucially this works out to be far more as VAT is then added on top of that and the retailer’s margin.

There is clearly much work to be done on this which is why we were encouraging the Government to start thinking about it now.