EV's to pay Road Tax from April 2025

[pgkevet]

Exempt road tax also applies to road registered farm vehicles. It's not a new concept but allows confirmation of ownership annually.
As already mentioned - taxation was always inevitable and as ICE reduces in proportion gov will need to find an alternative to fuel duties. Road pricing is the likely method - because gov is stupid and it'll cost heaps to implement. The simplest answer would be a tax based on annual mileage read by an MOT garage (even if the car doesn't actually need an MOT) - prepay monthly and adjust the difference at year's end.

 

[DeejUK]

because gov is stupid and it'll cost heaps to implement

I once worked with an IT consultancy that did some stuff with HMRC. They spent I think 18 months trying to count the number of apps and systems that they had, so they could work out how much it would cost to modernise and consolidate them.

In the end they gave up, because they had too many to count, and it was taking so long that by the time they threw in the towel, a heap of systems had been decommissioned and a load more had sprung up in departments they'd already surveyed.

The national digital tax infrastructure is an arcane Rube Goldberg machine that will likely never be brought up to date or simplified. So yeah, +1 for "cost heaps to implement," not least of all as they'll use some bunch of expensive ineffective jesters like Accenture

 

[MrBadger]

I also received a reminder to pay my exempt Road Tax from DVLA WTF

Its all about continuous vehicle registration. Much like if your car is not on the road you have to declare a SORN. Its not like the old days when you could have half a dozen cars and not have to let anyone know about them. You either need to let the DVLA know that the vehicle is on road, via the VED process even if £0, or if its its off road, in which case you declare the SORN. Just because your vehicle is £0 VED doesn't exempt you from the VED/SORN process.

The continuous registration process helps with identifying vehicles that are liable for insurance, MOT etc. There are only very few 'opt outs' of this process, normally temporary states when vehicle is in the possession of someone in the motor trade.

 

[Electron Mike]

Its all about continuous vehicle registration. Much like if your car is not on the road you have to declare a SORN. Its not like the old days when you could have half a dozen cars and not have to let anyone know about them. You either need to let the DVLA know that the vehicle is on road, via the VED process even if £0, or if its its off road, in which case you declare the SORN. Just because your vehicle is £0 VED doesn't exempt you from the VED/SORN process.

The continuous registration process helps with identifying vehicles that are liable for insurance, MOT etc. There are only very few 'opt outs' of this process, normally temporary states when vehicle is in the possession of someone in the motor trade.

Police and the government can check a vehicle via AMPR or other systems to see what f a vehicle is insured, requires tax or mot. This only another means of f making money in fines and perhaps malicious prosecutions.

 

[candida]

Police and the government can check a vehicle via AMPR or other systems to see what f a vehicle is insured, requires tax or mot. This only another means of f making money in fines and perhaps malicious prosecutions.

What’s malicious about being prosecuted for breaking the law?

 

[Electron Mike]

You will only pay the luxury car tax on an EV first registered after April 1st 2025. Cars registered before then just pay the base rate. I consider that damn lucky! Taxation here was inevitable, which leads on to answering your final but about paying exempt road tax…

It’s £0 road tax which you have to “pay” yearly. Different to having no tax rules for EVs. If there was no tax rule in place then I *think* the government wouldn’t be able to arbitrarily increase it (via royal ascent, right?). So making EV owners “pay” their £0, then the government can increase it at any point, as it was promised this week?

Fully agree I could be talking out my backside here, but hey ho!

Definition of tax is a compulsory contribution to state revenue, levied by the government on workers' income and business profits, or added to the cost of some goods, services, and transactions. Zero rate is zero. It all seams unnecessary.

 

[Electron Mike]

What’s malicious about being prosecuted for breaking the law? Because you’re not

 

[Electron Mike]

You only break the law when you do an act you are not allowed to do or fail to do which is illegal by definition. Paying nothing for nothing is not. Where is the law that states I need to pay for something the government informed me I was exempt from?

 

[Andywil]

You only break the law when you do an act you are not allowed to do or fail to do which is illegal by definition. Paying nothing for nothing is not. Where is the law that states I need to pay for something the government informed me I was exempt from?

When were you told you were exempt from VED, it was always stated that certain vehicles were zero rate, this is not the the same as exempted.
Electric vehicles were exempted from luxury vehicle tax which is a different tax.

 

[Electron Mike]

When were you told you were exempt from VED, it was always stated that certain vehicles were zero rate, this is not the the same as exempted.
Electric vehicles were exempted from luxury vehicle tax which is a different tax.

Definition of exempt free (a person or organization) from an obligation or liability imposed on others. Which means a person who is exempt from something, especially the payment of tax.

 

[HenryT]

You only break the law when you do an act you are not allowed to do or fail to do which is illegal by definition. Paying nothing for nothing is not. Where is the law that states I need to pay for something the government informed me I was exempt from?

The law didn't say you were exempt from the tax (the 'normal' road tax if you will) they said you paid it at a rate of nil - there is a difference. The chancellor can change the rate at will but can't overturn exemptions so easily.

You touched on the point earlier about royal assent - that would be required to change something from exempt to taxable. You were/are currently exempt from the luxury car tax but that exemption ends from 4/25 so any car you buy from that date could be caught. The exemption currently in place will be turned over in a future Finance Bill which will need to be signed off by Charlie.

(I mentioned this earlier in a post a while back)

 

[candida]

Thanks for the Misquote@Electron Mike

In answer to your question, it’s Section 43A of the 1994 Licensing Act

 

[Electron Mike]

Thanks for the Misquote@Electron Mike

In answer to your question, it’s Section 43A of the 1994 Licensing Act

There is legislation and you have indeed correctly stated it, however it is strange I have to pay nil for something I am exempt from. This country is indeed strange.

 

[HenryT]

There is legislation and you have indeed correctly stated it, however it is strange I have to pay nil for something I am exempt from. This country is indeed strange.

For one last time;

You are not exempt, you are taxed at a rate of nil.

 

[Electron Mike]

For one last time;

You are not exempt, you are taxed at a rate of nil.

A person is guilty of an offence if—
(a)he uses, or keeps, on a public road an exempt vehicle,

 

[HenryT]

A person is guilty of an offence if—
(a)he uses, or keeps, on a public road an exempt vehicle,

You don't have an exempt vehicle, unless you are driving around on a lawn mower.

 

[DeejUK]

Definition of exempt free (a person or organization) from an obligation or liability imposed on others. Which means a person who is exempt from something, especially the payment of tax.

As others have said, exempt and zero-rated are different things. I'm constantly getting the two confused when accounting for VAT. Stuff sold to Americans is exempt from VAT, admin expenses and rail travel are zero-rated. I think.

I don't find it unreasonable for the government to enforce that I provide them data about ownership of assets (a car). I have to do the same for other things - not a great example, but if I buy land on which no stamp duty is payable, I still need to register the title with the Land Registry.

 

[Electron Mike]

You don't have an exempt vehicle, unless you are driving around on a lawn mower.

The legislation states:​

Vehicle Excise and Registration Act 1994,
section 43a
Failure to have nil licence for exempt vehicle.

(1)A person is guilty of an offence if—
(a)he uses, or keeps, on a public road an exempt vehicle,
(b)that vehicle is one in respect of which regulations under this Act require a nil licence to be in force, and
(c)a nil licence is not for the time being in force in respect of the vehicle.
(2)A person guilty of an offence under subsection (1) is liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 2 on the standard scale.
(3)Subsection (1) has effect subject to the provisions of regulations made by the Secretary of State.
(4)The Secretary of State may, if he thinks fit, compound any proceedings for an offence under this section.]

 

[MrBadger]

Myth 6...

DVLA busts 9 myths around SORN (Statutory Off Road Notification)

March 2020 saw the highest number of SORNs (Statutory Off Road Notifications) made of any month in the past decade, so we've busted 9 common myths about it.

www.gov.uk

 

[Js1977]

You don't have an exempt vehicle, unless you are driving around on a lawn mower.

At that point you would be liable for insurance and whatever else they decide to throw the book at you and make an example.

Im not taking sides here but it's easy to see how people fail to understand how it works since on the surface of it, it looks plain and simple. However Im not about to applaud the government for their clever wording with intent. No one should be expected to be able to read in between the lines per say or read every single small print but yet there is reliance that they won't.

The fact that someone used some clever wording doesn't make make things right or fair but hence I'm inserting the moral grounds token here.

As someone else here said, the whole thing stinks and we could probably have a good rant about VED on motorbikes