Working people keep this country running, but many are now having to pay out of their own pocket just to do their jobs. That’s because HMRC’s mileage rate hasn’t been updated for 15 years.
Unison and the RAC have both called for the 45p a mile rate to be raised, previously calling for the rate to be uplifted to 63p a mile. The then Tory government did nothing.
The cost of running a vehicle has gone up in every way over fifteen years. In 2010 petrol was 117p a litre, it’s now 135p, an increase of 15%. Car insurance has jumped by 56%, even higher in cities. Road Tax, determined entirely by government itself has jumped by 39%, and repairs and maintenance up by 40%.
I tabled Parliamentary question which found out the NHS has updated its own rate meaning that Doctors and staff covered by Agenda for Change will now get 59p a mile for the first 3,500 miles.
The NHS were right to take action. But the failure of HMRC to update rates across the board means that NHS staff will now be reimbursed over 25% more per mile than home-care workers outside the NHS who do the same kind of driving. With many home care workers paid at or just above the National Living Wage it means they are paying the tax office to work and left out of pocket by thousands of pounds, pushing them well below the cost of living.
The same applies for millions of workers across the country. A recent HMRC survey showed that 9 out of 10 of employers who reimburse staff for work mileage used HMRCs out of date rates.
Only 10% of companies make an independent assessment, but many are not in that position for different reasons and the evidence shows it.
The Tories allowed this highway robbery to go unchecked for the 14 years they were in office. Labour, as the party of working people, must take action, and it’s why I’m challenging HMRC to get its house in order.
Jim McMahon OBE MP 