Will Malaysian EV drivers be next?
So electric vehicle (EV) owners in the United Kingdom (UK) will have to start paying for road tax starting from 2025 and this is alarming because here in Malaysia, EV owners do not pay road tax and can even claim tax exemptions for EV Charging hardware and services. Could Malaysia be the next country to charge EVs road tax?
In the UK, the Government has offered EV owners lower taxes to incentivise more people to buy EVs. Now, however, the Chancellor of the Exchequer in the UK, Jeremy Hunt, stated that the government aims to remove the tax exemptions to make the motoring system in the UK more fair.
This is because data suggests that half of all new vehicles in the UK will be EVs by 2025 so in order to maintain a more balanced system between EV owners and internal combustion engine (ICE) owners. While I can understand that, I also think that this may backfire and deter people from purchasing EVs.
Okay, so how does this affect Malaysia? Almost everything related to our vehicle and road tax systems are based on older systems used in the UK, one example everyone knows of is the current tax system for ICE vehicles, so with the UK opting to charge EVs with road tax, it is safe to assume, it could happen soon in Malaysia, right?
Well, I don’t think so, although I could be wrong and we could be looking at road tax for EVs in the very near future as well, but I am doubtful of this. I say this because we do know that based on the motor output, EV owners still pay some road tax but due to government policies early this year, EVs were exempted from this year to 2025.
Now the real question is, what happens after 2025? It is unlikely that the current government will revise this EV road tax exemption as so far all their actions have been in line with helping the public rather than making things worse for us but after 2025, there is no guarantee that EV owners will still be exempted from taxes.
Moreover, while I can’t speak for everyone, I can say that if Malaysians were to have to pay for road tax after four years of being exempt, there are many who will not be happy about it and the most common argument I can see people making is “if EV also need to pay road tax, better I just buy petrol car la.”
What do you guys think? Should EVs at the very least pay reduced taxes or do you think EV owners should pay the same taxes as ICE owners. Maybe you even think EV owners should be exempt from paying road taxes altogether.
We got all this from Motor1 and their full article is linked here. Thank you Motor 1 for the information and images.
