[magnetic-recoil]

One subsidy, there are still big subsidies on leasing electric cars (no tax or employment tax has to be paid on this), as well as zero road tax, fuel tax and other incentives.

Electric cars are cheap enough now anyway that the subsidies don't really make sense, they've done their job establishing a market but keeping the subsidy in place now is just a distortion pushing nominal prices up.

[edent]

Sorry to be a little pedantic, but "road tax" was abolished in 1937 - https://ipayroadtax.com/

The current Vehicle Excise Duty is based on the amount of pollutants emitted by the vehicle - https://obr.uk/forecasts-in-depth/tax-by-tax-spend-by-spend/... - so electric vehicles still receive tax demands (albeit for zero).

Electricity to refuel cars is subject to VAT (at 5%).

[JimmyAxod]

Just to add that if you keep and maintain a car long enough (Around 40 years), you never have to pay tax again regardless of how polluting it may be!

Buying an historical car is very cost effective - easy to fix yourself, no tax, etc

[oblio]

A 40 year old car is a deathtrap by modern standards, I guess that's ok if you live in a city or only travel short distances.

[JimmyAxod]

If ‘safety’ is your only criteria, then sure I guess. Personally it’s not too important to me - the chances of being in an RTA are negligible. I’d hardly call cars from the 80s ‘deathtraps’ either.

I think we should get out of the habit of buying new stuff every few years. There’s something pretty amazing about driving a car that is decades old.

[correlationzone]

I just looked it up, and transport accidents are the 3rd most common cause of death for my age bracket in the UK, and the first I can do anything to prevent (behind suicide and accidental poisoning).

Once the risks of dementia get close, I'll join you in the world of thin A-pillars, but I wouldn't call that good general advice!

[oblio]

Cars from the 80s barely have any airbags. Crumple zones are worse, etc. Anything before 2000 or even 2010 or so is bad, really bad. Except for luxury cars, which are generally ahead of the curve.

[magnetic-recoil]

I am sorry but you are wrong about road tax - the name "road tax" never existed in the law, the tax that became VED was always legally called something else. Calling a fee required to drive your vehicle on the road a "road tax" is a perfectly legitimate use of the English language.

In all other regards you are correct though, there is VAT to be paid on electricity, and electric vehicles must be registered for tax even though they don't have to pay.

[wwqrd]

Plenty of vehicles can be driven on the road without paying road tax is the thing. So why would you call it road tax?

[magnetic-recoil]

It's called road tax because you need to pay it before you can take your vehicle on the road. You can own a car and keep it in your garage and you don't have to pay any tax on it - it's not a car tax, it's a road tax.

It's an error to assume that people call taxes by what they pay for, the common name of a tax is what makes you liable for it. Income tax is paid when you earn income, insurance tax is paid when you take out an insurance policy, road tax is charged if you want to take your vehicle on the roads.

'plenty of vehicles' is also just bicycles and carts AFAIK, any other vehicle requires registration and tax (even if the rate is £0). In any case, it doesn't matter that not all road users pay road tax, we still call income tax as such even though not all earners pay it!

As an aside, I don't own a car and in fact prefer to cycle; I simply object to a factually incorrect and nonsensical prescriptivist campaign against how normal people speak.

[ndsipa_pomu]

No VED for horses, skateboards or scooters