HGVs pay enough in tax to cover almost all the government’s spending on road maintenance in the UK, according to research.

A report prepared for the FTA ahead of next week’s Budget shows that revenue raised in 2015/16 from HGVs in fuel duty, VED and the road user levy totalled £4.4bn.

The amount spent on highways maintenance, including bridges and footpaths, during this period was £4.7bn.

The research from RepGraph also shows that lorries are paying three times more in tax than their estimated cost of damage to infrastructure.

The total tax take from motor vehicles was £33.5 billion – more than seven times as high as the road maintenance budget.

Christopher Snelling, FTA’s head of national and regional policy said the government should cut taxes on road freight in order to stimulate the economy.

He said: “The fact that HGV taxes alone almost pay for the whole of UK road maintenance also shows that Britain still does not support the quality of the roads well enough,” he said.

“Whether it is potholes, road closures or long running road works, we all suffer when the roads do not work as they should. Congestion is bad for the environment as well as the economy.”

  • Visit Motortransport.co.uk for live coverage of the Autumn Budget this Wednesday (22 November)

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