UNITED KINGDOM: UK Thinktank Calls For Tax On Self-Driving Cars Over Looming Job Losses
A UK thinktank has urged the government to introduce taxes on self-driving cars, warning that the rapid growth of autonomous vehicles could put hundreds of thousands of driving jobs at risk while worsening traffic congestion.
The Centre for British Progress said the government should act before self-driving vehicles become widespread, arguing that an early tax could help cushion the economic impact of job losses and create a new source of revenue as traditional fuel-duty income declines.
The report estimates that about 417,000 taxi and private-hire driving jobs in England, including around 121,000 in London, could eventually be affected as autonomous vehicles become more common.
It also warned that driverless cars could encourage greater car use and reduce reliance on public transport. Government forecasts suggest highly automated driving could contribute to a 24 per cent increase in road miles by 2050, potentially adding to congestion.
The thinktank proposed a charge of around 88 pence per mile for autonomous vehicles. It estimates that such a system could generate as much as £47 billion annually by 2050 while helping replace revenue expected to be lost from fuel duty as electric and autonomous vehicles become more widespread.
However, the proposal has faced opposition from parts of the technology industry. Wayve, a British company developing autonomous driving technology, warned that a sector-specific tax could discourage investment and undermine the UK’s ambitions to become a major player in the global autonomous vehicle industry.
Transport unions, meanwhile, said taxation alone would not be enough and called for a comprehensive plan to retrain and redeploy workers whose jobs could disappear as driverless technology expands.
With robotaxi services beginning to emerge in London and autonomous vehicles rapidly developing around the world, the debate is increasingly shifting from whether the technology will arrive to how governments will manage its economic and social consequences.