Annual Motorway Tax Planned

Motorists who use motorways, and busy A-roads, may face a charge of up to £150 under new proposals by the Department for Transport and the Treasury.

Under the proposals being drawn up by the Transport Department and the Treasury, a proportion of the money raised through road tax would be used to pay private contractors to operate and maintain some of Britain’s major roads. Firms would also be free to impose tolls on any new roads they build.

Edmund King, the AA’s president, has described the proposal as a ‘poll tax on wheels’. “You’re already paying fuel duty, you’re already paying vehicle excise duty, you are already paying tolls on some roads and bridges, so an additional access charge is basically an additional tax.

“It does nothing really to regulate traffic, it is just an additional charge.”