Foreign lorry tax to exceed expectations by £20m in first year

The government has claimed that revenue from the HGV road user levy, which is designed to tax foreign lorries for use of UK roads, is on target to exceed predictions to the tune of more than £20m in its first year.

The figures were provided by the transport minister Robert Goodwill, in response to a parliamentary question by Newark MP Robert Jenrick.

“Ever since the Romans built the Fosse way and the Great North road through our town, road hauliers have been an integral part of Newark’s economy,” said Jenrick.

“However, those hauliers have had to compete with foreign competitors on an uneven playing field for too long. Will the minister update us on the success of the HGV road user levy?”

The minister responded: “They say that Rome was not built in a day, but I was not the foreman on that particular job. I am delighted to report to the House that, despite being told when we were in opposition that we could not introduce a lorry road user charge for foreign trucks, we have done so.

“We predicted that it would yield £25 million in revenue, but it is on track to yield more than £45 million in the first year, levelling the playing field for hard-working British hauliers.”

In a separate written question from Damian Collins, MP for Folkestone & Hythe, Goodwill confirmed that since the levy was introduced on 1 April 2014, the revenue from non-UK-registered vehicles has been £42.1m.

Revenue from UK-registered vehicles has been £132.5m, but this is offset in full for the vast majority of UK operators by concurrent reductions in vehicle excise duty.

But controversy surrounding the levy continues to rage north and south of the Irish border, over its continued application to Irish hauliers on roads transiting Northern Ireland.

FTA Ireland (FTAI) has restated its deep concern that what it calls “the main freight artery” from Donegal to the rest of the Republic is subject to the tax – and says that Irish hauliers should be exempt for use of the A5 when transiting Northern Ireland.

FTAI has additionally requested that the political parties in Northern Ireland, and those intending to stand for election to the Irish parliament in 2016, should clarify their positions on the levy, which has applied to the whole of the UK including Northern Ireland since last April.

Said FTAI: “The Irish Exchequer has illustrated that it recognises the importance of the A5 as a transit route for Irish hauliers, and Donegal bound freight, and has paid the UK €50m for the upgrade of the road.  In addition, Donegal residents have also expressed their dissatisfaction at the UK levy being introduced on the vital route.”