T6 Euro 6 UK road tax

D

DA64

New Member
Hello. I'm new to the forum.
Anyway, I recently emailed my local MP to ask why Euro 6 vans incur higher road tax than Euro 4 or Euro 5, asking her to take it up with the Chancellor.
She replied, saying she could see no reason for this other than the road tax system for vans is outdated; she said she'd ask the Chancellor and would get back to me when she's received a reply.
If, like me, you have a Euro 6 van (even if you don't have one!), please write to your MP, asking them to pursue this. Maybe, just maybe, if enough people do this, it might make a difference.
(Tip: you'll have to include your name and address so that your MP will be able to respond under parliamentary rules.)
 
Hi DA64, can you post a copy of your email, I'll copy and paste and send it to mine.

thanks,
 
Sure. Here it is:

Dear XXXX XXXXXXXXX,

I'm a resident of XXXXXXXXX.

I'm emailing to ask about road tax. I have a vehicle, a van, with a Euro 6 diesel engine and it's costing £320 in road tax. According to the V149 form on gov.uk Euro 4 and Euro 5 engined vehicles of the same basic type cost £140 to tax.

Euro 6 is cleaner than Euro 4 and 5. Euro 6 vehicles such as mine aren't charged in Clean Air zones in Bristol, Bath, Sheffield etc etc, or in ULEZ in London. Euro 4 and 5 are charged in these places.

Why, then, is a cleaner engine such as mine liable to a heavier fee for road tax?

Can you please ask the Chancellor? I'm rather baffled.

Kind regards,
XXXXXXX XXXXXXXX

XX, XXXXXXXXXX Street,
XXXXXXXton,
XXXXXXXshire,
XX12 4XX.
 
Please spread the word.

This is the reply I received from my MP:

Dear XXXXXX,

Thank you for your email regarding vehicle tax.

You are right that Euro 4 and 5 vehicles still have cheaper van tax, despite the Euro 6 vans being cleaner.

I fail to see any logic behind this – especially given the need to incentivise people to choose cleaner vehicles. I expect the disparity simply comes from how outdated the system of van taxation is.

I am very happy to share your question with the Chancellor and will write to you again when I have received a response.

In the meantime, if you feel I can be of any further assistance on this, or any other matter please do not hesitate to get in touch.

Yours sincerely,
XXXX XXXXXXX
Member of Parliament for XXXXXXXXXXXX and XXXXXXXX
 
At least your MP responds to E Mails and in fairness, the response is probably as good as you could expect, hopefully she will follow this up and provide you with a government response.
I suspect that the decision makers think that if you can afford a newer vehicle you can be rinsed a bit more than people who drive older vehicles, i.e. it's nothing to do with clean air or climate change.
 
Absolutely this is insane. I’ve just had to renew mine today and fell off my chair when £320 came up, it’s absurd especially when we are all getting hammered left right and centre at the moment with rising prices.
I’ve sent the same email to my local mp Jeremy hunt in Surrey.
Oo what a numpty, he is the chancellor !! Doh.
 
Last edited:
Trouts said:
you know what they'll do here is keep the Euro 6 the same and just make the Euro4/5 tax higher...
Click to expand...
Exactly what I was thinking! Euro 6 has been around for what 7 years now (on T6 at least) so a lot of the working vehicles are probably in this category so they could lose overall if they were to lower for euro6, much more likely to want to try and price older vehicles off the road. The only surprise is that they haven’t got round to doing it yet! Too much partying and PPE contracts to worry about I guess ;)
 
DA64 said:
Hello. I'm new to the forum.
Anyway, I recently emailed my local MP to ask why Euro 6 vans incur higher road tax than Euro 4 or Euro 5, asking her to take it up with the Chancellor.
She replied, saying she could see no reason for this other than the road tax system for vans is outdated; she said she'd ask the Chancellor and would get back to me when she's received a reply.
If, like me, you have a Euro 6 van (even if you don't have one!), please write to your MP, asking them to pursue this. Maybe, just maybe, if enough people do this, it might make a difference.
(Tip: you'll have to include your name and address so that your MP will be able to respond under parliamentary rules.)
Click to expand...
I have a t5. The tax is the same as yours
 
£320 for road tax. Absurd. This is becoming quite an expensive experience putting a T6 on the road.
 
I wrote to my MP about this (using the template above) and they came back with the following;

-----------------

The House of Commons Library has, helpfully, supplied me with the following response to the question:

Euro 4 and 5 Standards and VED Rates

Euro standards are intended to reduce pollutants such as Nitrous Oxide (NOx), Carbon Monoxide and Particulate Matter (See Royal Automobile Club (RAC): Euro 1 to Euro 6 guide).

The constituent is correct in saying that there is not a separate rate of VED for light goods vehicles that have a Euro 6-compliant engine, whereas a Euro 4 and 5 engine may be entitled to a different rate. Whilst this is correct, it is only true for some Euro 4 or 5 vehicles. The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency's (DVLA) rates of vehicle tax document (PDF), which sets out VED rates, also specifies the following:

Only Euro 4 light goods vehicles registered between 1 March 2003 and 31 December 2006 pay VED at £140 for 2023/24
Only Euro 5 light goods vehicles registered between 1 January 2009 and 31 December 2010 pay VED at £140 for 2023/24.

This means that a Euro 5-compliant van registered, for instance, in 2014, would be liable for VED at the full rate, in a similar way to a Euro 6 van first registered in 2021.

This issue has not been debated at length in Parliament. From existing Parliamentary sources, the introduction of a reduced rate for Euro 5-compliant vans was briefly discussed in a Public Bill Committee meeting on the Finance Act 2008 on 12 June 2008. The then Economic Secretary, Kitty Ussher MP, said that the reduced rate for Euro 5 vans was introduced to "encourage early take-up of Euro 5 compliant diesel vans, ahead of Euro 5's mandatory introduction in 2011." Whilst there is no evidence of a similar debate regarding the Euro 4 reduced rate, it is likely that a similar incentive was intended by the application of a reduced rate (The Royal Automobile Club (RAC) shows on its website that the implementation date for Euro 4 standards was between 2005 and 2006).

Euro 6 Standards and VED rates

Euro 6 became mandatory in September 2015 for new light vans and cars, as stated in the Transport for London website. This means that new vehicles have to comply with Euro 6 emissions standards to be approved for sale.

However, there is no evidence of a reduced VED rate being implemented ahead of Euro 6's mandatory introduction to encourage early take-up.

------------------
Not really answering the question at all, standard!
 
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Reactions: Bav
They obviously didn't see the need to encourage people to buy Euro 6 vehicles when they could simply force people to do so. Unfortunately, the pandemic has reinforced this attitude and we're now seeing a lot more totalitarian intent within the governing classes.
 
It is what it is. Best do some research on vehicle running costs before purchasing…..road tax, insurance etc
 
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