A week before the Chancellor delivers the Autumn Budget, BVRLA Chief Executive, Toby Poston outlines some of the association's priority areas and topics that are rumoured to be facing changes.
We are a week away from one of the most anticipated and speculated-upon Budgets in recent memory.
The mood music from ministers and economists has been downbeat. Sustained fiscal pressures are taking their toll. A hefty national deficit is moving in the wrong direction.
The Government is playing a high-stakes game of fiscal poker and must lay some kind of hand in a bid to placate bond markets and maintain some semblance of financial probity.
Motoring taxes represent one of the largest revenue pots that the Labour Government hasn’t already pledged not to increase. News outlets have speculated on changes to Fuel Duty, ECOS, VED and salary sacrifice allowances. Entire business models are built around these taxes and duties and the HM Treasury team that manages them is aware of the implications.
The topic of road pricing has been on and off the agenda for years, and something we have been consistent in calling for a long-term, considered approach to. Rumours that broke last week do not match that desire. The used EV market is immature, volatile and beset by massive depreciation. For many use cases, including rental and vans, EV demand is nowhere near ZEV Mandate levels. The prospect of a specific, EV-focused pay-per-mile charge has the potential to destroy confidence across the transition. In signposting any future VED+ charge the Government must clarify that it will not apply to EVs already registered and ensure tax regime consistency.
Rental operators and van fleets face serious challenges in their transition to zero-emission vehicles and this should be reflected with specific exemptions in the early stages of any pay-per-mile regime.
We have been making the sector’s case to the Treasury and key governmental departments. This includes pushing for the Chancellor to create a landscape that allows rental and leasing companies to play an active role in delivering the Government’s growth ambitions.
Road transport decarbonisation can be a route to growth, but only if the numbers add up for all parts of the chain. Extending full expensing to leasing and rental would help to enable that, opening up investment and supporting progress.
Our formal submission contained a range of targeted, practical ways for the Government to create an environment in which members could support its economic growth targets, each grounded in reality.
Next week’s Budget is shaping up to be a milestone moment. It does not, however, signal the end of our discussions with government.
We were in Number 10 Downing Street last week and will meet with the new minister for Decarbonisation next week. Our engagements continue year-round; the voice of members is being heard.
Just last night we marked two years of the BVRLA's Industry Champions programme, recognising the efforts of members to support our work on policy and campaigning.
Regardless of what is – or isn’t – announced by the Chancellor next Wednesday, I would urge more members to engage with the programme. Every engagement grows our influence and makes our voice louder.
Find out more about our plans to keep you informed following the Budget.
For more details on our engagements in this space, contact me ([email protected]) or the team directly ([email protected])
