Will France introduce a per-kilometre tax on electric vehicles similar to the UK's new EV tax?
The UK is preparing to charge electric car drivers according to how far they travel
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Reader question: I’ve read about the new per-kilometre tax on electric cars in the UK. Will France introduce a similar tax?
The UK has announced a new tax on electric vehicles based on how far they are driven, due to come into force in 2028.
Fully electric cars will pay three pennies per mile with the measure, roughly two centimes per km if applied to France.
Similar taxes to that announced in the UK already exist in New Zealand, Iceland and some US states.
They were imposed to compensate for the loss of revenue from petrol taxes.
However, a similar tax is not envisaged by France, France’s finance ministry told The Connexion.
In 2023, the French finance ministry published a report which said a switch away from fossil fuels to electricity would cost the state around €14 billion by 2030 and €33 billion by 2050, compared to 2019, the year used as its base.
Transport accounted for half of fossil fuel use in France that year, and 75% of oil-based fossil fuel use.
Taxes on electricity would not compensate for the loss, with the report saying they would generate around €1 billion in extra revenue in 2030 and €3 billion by 2050.
It added that 90% of the money spent on measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and air pollution, as well as infrastructure and road safety, was covered by taxes on fossil fuels and would have to be compensated for in some way.
Given the political situation in France, with parliament divided into three blocs, making it difficult for legislation to pass, it is perhaps not surprising that the finance ministry said there were no plans to introduce a per-kilometre tax.
This could change after next year’s presidential and parliamentary elections, if the new president is able to secure a majority in parliament.
Other factors, such as the two-year contrôle technique, where vehicle odometers are recorded, and the move towards individual taxation would also make taxing vehicles per kilometre difficult to implement in France.
Commentators say a return to a tax disc, or “vignette”, is a more likely solution.
