Cabbies get £310 tax break if they choose electric

Taxi drivers across the UK have been given a £310 annual tax break in the Chancellor's Budget if they choose to buy into new electric vehicle technology.  Chancellor Philip Hammond stated that the £40,000 "luxury car tax" would be axed for emission free taxis as of April 2019. 

The surcharge tax placed on all vehicles worth over £40,000 requires car owners to fork out £310 for the first five years from its initial purchase date. 

Wes Streeting, Labour MP for Ilford North and chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group For Taxis, announced previous to the Budget that he had pleaded the case for all new zero emission taxis to be allowed a vehicle excise duty exemption. 

The change in tax requirements means that green cabbies could now save over £1,500 during the course of five years. 

A spokesperson from the LEVC said: "The Chancellor has listened to our request to remove electric taxis from the ‘luxury car’ tax bracket. "The change to Vehicle Excise Duty announced today will, in the long-term, incentivise more cabbies to go electric, contributing to reduced emissions and improved air quality across the UK. 

As of January 2018, all newly sold London taxis will have to have emission free driving capability.