UK drivers pay average of £731 a year in tax, figures show

Treasury makes £46.6bn annually from drivers, almost 8% of all taxes received by the Government

Figure places Britain fourth in the EU for taxing its drivers – behind Germany, Italy and France (Getty Images)

Almost 8% of all taxes received by the British Government come from drivers.

That’s the message from the latest figures compiled by the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association, which show that we paid £46.6 billion during 2012 for the right to use our cars.

The sum equates to a tax take of £731 per driver. This figure places Britain fourth in the EU for taxing its drivers – behind Germany, Italy and France.

Most of the tax you pay as a driver (a total of £26 billion) is sucked from your wallet as the fuel flows into your tank. Then there’s the VAT you pay on everything to do with your car.

Perhaps surprisingly, road tax only accounted for £5.8 billion, putting it a distant third.