A new poll has suggested a £100m company van "tax raid" from the Government is set to catch more than three out of five tradespeople off guard - and could be "the straw that breaks the camel’s back".
In his Autumn Statement, Chancellor Jeremy Hunt announced basic rate taxpayers currently paying £720 as a benefit in kind to use company vans for personal journeys would pay an additional 10% or £72 a year from April 6. Meanwhile, higher rate taxpayers face a £144 extra annual charge.
Online vehicle marketplace Auto Trader surveyed its readers -and some 62% of respondents were not aware of the looming rise in van tax.
Treasury forecasts show increasing the tax in line with the Consumer Prices Index measure of inflation – currently near 40-year highs – will raise an extra £15m a year and will be worth more than £100m by 2030. The upcoming tax rise follows soaring fuel costs after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The results of the Auto Trader poll, shared with the PA news agency, showed more than a quarter (27%) of van drivers have been hit by at least £500 in extra running costs this year.
Meanwhile the average price of used vans on its marketplace has risen by £1,300, or 7%, to £19,429 since November 2021. Supply problems mean new vans have seen an even bigger rise – up £4,300, or 14%, to £33,821.
An Auto Trader spokesman said: “Our findings show that the new fresh tax raid coming their way in April will be a complete shock to most van drivers, adding to the heavy burden that they’ve already faced this year.
“It might even be the straw that breaks the camel’s back for many of them.”
In his autumn statement, the Chancellor also announced new zero-emission cars will no longer be exempt from vehicle excise duty from April 2025.
