MOTIVATED by a desire to enable businesses to move forward with their fleet and mobility plans faster and more effectively, the Association of Fleet Professionals (AFP) has launched a 13-point Tax Manifesto.
The document is designed to form the basis of future campaigning on taxation and covers areas from small detail alterations to major strategic shifts – around which the organisation believes that change or definition is required.
The manifesto comes from wide-ranging discussions with AFP members and other interested parties about areas where the taxation of fleets and mobility needs changing or developing in order to create effective incentives, greater certainty and more fairness, says AFP Chair Paul Hollick.
“The results, which we believe are constructive, realistic and thought-provoking, are contained in this document. We plan to use it as the foundation for our conversations with the government and HMRC in the coming months and years.”
He said a key element of the thinking behind the formation of the AFP just over a year ago was the need for an effective and engaged campaigning fleet industry organisation and the tax manifesto is really the first signs of that intention.
The 13 points in the tax manifesto are:
1. Benefit in kind taxation tables until 2029/30 are needed to meet EV targets
2. Clean Air Zones should be co-ordinated nationally
3. The “available to use” rule needs updating
4. A clear definition of occasional private use is required
5. Home working definition and concessions should be extended
6. Road tolling needs to be clearly signposted
7. Parking costs should be linked to shared mobility and public transport solutions
8. Inner city parking needs to be improved
9. Tax breaks are needed for employees taking a mobility solution…
10. …and for shared and low carbon mobility
11. Higher taxes on older vehicles may be justified
12. Clear signposting of EV initiatives is required
13. A national kerbside charging strategy is essential
Hollick explained that most of the points in the manifesto were directly related to the changing shape of the fleet sector, especially surrounding the electrification of the car and van parcs, and the move towards mobility rather than just fleet solutions. In these cases, government policy and HMRC implementations often lag some way behind the issues that AFP members face in the real world.
“Of the 13 points, several could be implemented very easily indeed, almost at the stroke of a pen. Others, such as the need for discussions around a road tolling plan, are very much strategic and part of longer-term shifts in policy.
“What we hope to see now is the Tax Manifesto 2021 considered across the fleet and mobility sectors and to hear the reaction from all parties who have an interest. It is by no means a fixed document and we are very much open to further ideas and refinements.”
Copies of the Tax Manifesto 2021 can be obtained by e-mailing administration@theafp.co.uk.
See: AFP Warns Mobility Will Be Biggest Challenge For Fleet Managers
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