Editing London congestion charge (section)

=== Payment by embassies ===
Following pressure from the Mayor of London,<ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/4881442.stm |title=Embassy to pay congestion charge |work=BBC News |date=6 April 2006 |access-date=25 May 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150418175646/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/london/4881442.stm |archive-date=18 April 2015 |url-status=live}}</ref> an increasing number of embassies accepted the charge and by 2008 a total of 99 out of 128 embassies had agreed to the charge. Among others, decliners include [[Germany]], [[Japan]], [[Russia]] and the [[United States]], who, by 2015, collectively owed £95&nbsp;million.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.ft.com/content/f731628a-9f31-11e5-beba-5e33e2b79e46 |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221210/https://www.ft.com/content/f731628a-9f31-11e5-beba-5e33e2b79e46 |archive-date=10 December 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|title=London embassies run up £95m congestion charge bill|date=10 December 2015|website=Financial Times|last1=Sullivan|first1=Conor}}</ref> The United States and Germany are reported to consider it to be a local tax, from which they are protected by the [[Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations|Vienna Convention]], rather than a toll.<ref name="taxortoll">{{cite news|last=Mulholland|first=Helene|url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2008/nov/19/london-congestioncharging|title=Foreign diplomats owe £23m over London congestion charge|date=19 November 2008|work=The Guardian|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150418180512/http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2008/nov/19/london-congestioncharging|archive-date=18 April 2015}}</ref>

In May 2011, Johnson raised the issue with the President of the United States, [[Barack Obama]], who was fined £120 after driving through London in the [[Presidential state car (United States)|Presidential state car]] without paying the toll during a state visit to [[Buckingham Palace]]. The United States subsequently claimed [[diplomatic immunity]]. A TfL spokesperson noted that US embassies do pay tolls in [[Oslo]] and Singapore.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/4770293.stm |title=Embassy road toll row continues |work=BBC News |date=14 May 2006 |access-date=25 May 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150418181127/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/london/4770293.stm |archive-date=18 April 2015 |url-status=live}}</ref> In 2024 Transport for London estimated that, by the end of 2023, £143 million was owed by foreign embassies in London: since the charge was introduced in 2003, the [[Embassy of the United States, London|US Embassy]] owed the most with £14.6&nbsp;million, followed by [[Embassy of Japan, London|Japan]] at £10&nbsp;million, [[India House, London|India]] with £8.5&nbsp;million, and [[High Commission of Nigeria, London|Nigeria]] with £8.4&nbsp;million.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/ckrrnz2gn3po|title=Diplomats owe more than £143m in London congestion charges |work=BBC News|date=20 May 2024|access-date=21 May 2024}}</ref>