RAC backs campaign to end ‘unfair’ VAT on public EV charging
Automotive services firm RAC has backed a national campaign to end the ‘unfair’ VAT on public electric vehicle (EV) charging, which sees EV drivers pay four times more for electricity.
According to the FairCharge campaign, VAT on domestic electricity is charged at 5 per cent while motorists using public charges pay 20 per cent of electricity VAT, representing an ‘unfair’ barrier for the 38 per cent of people that do not have EV chargers at home.
“Owning an electric vehicles has to be made affordable and practical for hard-pressed families and businesses, because these vehicles hold the key for making our air clean again – for us and our children,” wrote former Top Gear presenter Quentin Willson in a change.org petition addressed to the government.
“If we are going to increase EV uptake, then we need to have far-sighted, fair government policies that make EVs appealing to everyone.”
Willson, who is at the FairCharge campaign’s helm, is also calling on the government to ensure the UK has the right EV policies, widen the access to high-speed public chargers and incentivise the adoption of electric cars via low-cost funding options.
“The UK is leading the way on the transition to net zero – and has reduced emissions faster than any other country in the G20 and continues to have the most ambitious climate targets for 2030,” a Treasury spokesperson told PA news agency.
To drive the UK’s move to electric vehicles, we have provided over £2.5 billion to cut down purchase costs for drivers and to build the necessary infrastructure to support their usage, such as local on-street residential charging and targeted plug-in vehicle grants.”