The government are proposing a new mileage tax to replace the current system of road tax and fuel tax.
Currently, motorists pay an amount each year in road tax which allows you to use and keep your vehicle on the road. Then you pay an extortionate amount of tax (about 85%) on your fuel.
The government proposes to abolish both of these and replace them with a system of taxation where you pay a variable amount by the mile depending on which road you are driving on. Rural roads will start from 2p/mile and congested roads will be up to £1.34/mile.
To enable the charging system, every vehicle will have a GPS enabled black box.
What a well thought out proposal. Not!
- Do you want the government to know the whereabouts of your vehicle at all times?
- Are you happy to pay the cost of having the system fitted to your vehicle?
- If you have the choice of driving down 10 miles of congested road at peak time for £1.34/mile (a cost of £13.40) or driving round 20 miles of country lanes to get to the same place for 2p/mile (a cost of 40p), which one are you going to choose?
The third point is the main reason why this system just won't work. The first two points we have no control over - the government will force us to pay and they will force us to have the black boxes. The third point, however, they have no control over. When faced with that sort of choice, people will drive the extra miles down unsuitable roads ill equiped to cope with the extra volume of traffic. Accidents will increase and the government will lose tax money as a result. Then they'll realise what's going on and bump the cost up on rural roads to compensate but you can bet they won't decrease the cost on the other roads so it'll end up getting more expensive.
Unless, of course, you live in Scotland. Because driving in Scotland will be cheaper than driving in England (source: http://uk.news.yahoo.com/050606/17/fkh81.html). Now why aren't I surprised?