A cross-party group of MPs and peers have urged the Chancellor to abolish the so-called EV ‘Pavement Tax’ to boost EV adoption and speed up a cleaner air future for all.

FairCharge says the Government must tackle its ‘illogical tax burden’ on electric charging

The term has been coined by campaigner and automotive journalist Quentin Willson to describe the added cost for EV drivers reliant on public chargers because they have no driveway.

The VAT rate on electricity from public chargers is 20%, which compares to a 5% VAT rate on electricity from home chargers, hence a Pavement Tax of 15%.

Willson, founder of the FairCharge campaign, said the Chancellor must slash VAT on electricity from public chargers from 20% to 5% to end the situation. He’s being backed by MPs and peers, who say consumers need to be “front and centre in the eyes of policymakers” if the switch to EVs is to continue to accelerate.

Derek Thomas, Conservative MP for St Ives, West Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly, stated: “It is essential that this financial barrier to electric cars is removed, which is why I am encouraging all parliamentarians to join me in calling on the Chancellor to #AxeThePavementTax. Demanding more tax from people simply because they don’t have a driveway is hardly the best way to help them make the switch to electric cars. We need to make it easier for drivers to go electric, not harder.”

A recent report by Conservative MP Chris Skidmore into what the Government needs to do to meet its climate goals also called for the cut in VAT.

Quentin Willson commented: “The UK won’t be taken seriously as an investment destination for EV infrastructure if it has an illogical tax burden on electric charging. The Treasury is disadvantaging drivers by forcing them to pay four times the rate of VAT simply because they don’t have a driveway. Nearly four in 10 households won’t be able to charge at home. Such an archaic tax policy won’t attract infrastructure investment.

“The high rate of VAT on public charging is slowing EV adoption just as the rest of the world is investing in electrification. If the Government doesn’t take urgent action, we will lose the opportunity for tens of billions in economic activity and tens of thousands of new highly paid, highly skilled jobs.”

While slashing the ‘Pavement Tax’ is a key priority for FairCharge, it’s also called for measures for lower-income drivers to access electric vehicles and for the price of electricity to be urgently decoupled from gas. This will help lower the cost of charging an EV at home, reduce electricity bills for all and support the move to renewable, independent energy.

The campaign group has also urged action to dispel myths and promote new incentives to hasten the adoption of EVs by both public and business, and for the Government to support private charging providers with expedited planning permissions and concessions on charging builds, equipment, cabling, groundworks and power supplies.