Drivers of electric vehicles will be taxed twice when driving abroad because of Labour’s new pay per mile scheme, ministers have admitted.
Under the scheme, called eVED, drivers of electric vehicles (EVs) and hybrids will pay an annual fee based on how many miles they drive.
But ministers have let it slip that there will be no way to know how many of those miles have actually been driven on British roads.
Labour Treasury Minister Dan Tomlinson insisted this is necessary to protect drivers’ privacy. But critics have lambasted it as a stealth tax.
Drivers of EVs will fork out the 3p per mile tariff regardless of whether they drive in the UK or the EU.
Many roads in the EU use a toll system, rather than road taxes. Edmund King, president of the AA, said: ‘You would effectively be paying tax twice – to both the French and UK governments.’
Labour’s failure to discount charges for mileage abroad has sparked fury.
Shadow Transport Secretary Richard Holden said: ‘This is just the start of Labour’s attack on motorists – charging them for driving, and now for using roads outside the UK.’
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