What exactly do we pay road tax for? (UK only)?

Question

I have been driving for three years and have never thought about it untill now. Can anybody help me with this question?

Answer 1

In the United Kingdom, Vehicle Excise Duty (VED) (often known as road tax) is an annual tax on the use of motor vehicles on the public roads. It is collected and enforced by the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA).

Any vehicle used or kept on the public road at any time during the tax period is liable. Owners of vehicles paying the tax are issued with a vehicle licence to be displayed on the vehicle. Since 1998, owners of vehicles not using the public roads have also been required to submit an annual Statutory Off-Road Notification (SORN), indicating precisely where the vehicle is to be kept.

In March 1998, graduated vehicle excise duty (GVED) was introduced as an incentive to purchase vehicles with low emission levels:

Cars registered before March 1, 2001 are charged according to engine capacity. In the 2004 – 2005 tax year this was £110 for those with a capacity under 1550cc, and £165 for those above.
Cars registered on or after March 1, 2001 are charged according to their level of carbon dioxide (CO2) emission. For the tax year 2004 – 2005 this varied between £55 and £165.
Rates for other vehicles vary from £15 for motorcycles with an engine capacity under 150cc, up to a maximum of £1,850 for the largest heavy goods vehicles (HGVs).

In tax year 2002 – 2003, it is estimated that evasion of the tax equated to a loss to the exchequer of £206 million. In an attempt to reduce this, from 2004 an automatic £80 penalty (halved if paid within 28 days) is issued by the DVLA computer for failure to pay the tax within one month of the expiry of the previous tax disc. A maximum fine of £1,000 applies for failure to pay the tax, though in practice fines are normally much lower.

Also note that vehicles registered before 1 January 1973 are eligible for a free vehicle licence under the "Historic Vehicles" legislation. This is due to the age of the vehicle and assumed limited use.

It has been announced that VED for HGVs will be replaced, probably in 2005 or 2006, by a new tax based on distance travelled, the Lorry Road-User Charge (LRUC). At the same time, the rate of fuel duty will be cut for such vehicles.

The primary aim of the change is that HGVs from the UK and the continent pay exactly the same to use British roads (removing the ability of foreign vehicles to pay no UK tax). However, it is also expected that the tax will be used to influence routes taken (charging lower rates to use motorways), reduce congestion (by varying the charge with time of day), and encourage low emission vehicles.

In June 2005 the government announced plans to adopt a similar road user charging scheme for other road vehicles, which would work by tracing the movement of all vehicles using a telematics system. The idea raised immediate objections on civil and human rights grounds that it would amount to mass surveillance.

Answer 2

Don't know , I am an Ex pat living in France, and here we do not pay road tax, good thing you might think, in my opinion I would go back to paying it any day....If we want to go to Lyon from Nice, the quickest way is on the auto route 4 hr journey, at the cost of £40 return trip, do that 3 times a year now £120, the roads are not good, no lighting the white lines are barely visable at night, and the basic side roads do not compare with the UK, so I feel you are paying for quality, although some roads you could argue.....
the big problem is if Alistair Darling gets his way there will be a toll on motorways, thats fine as long as they do away with tax, but this is Britain we are talking about, land of the rip offs

Answer 3

It's a way of making sure that people have insurance and an MOT. It's also a very good way of collecting lots of money from the general public. There was probably a different reason for making us pay Road Tax in the first place, but no doubt someone else will come along at some point and tell you what it was :D

Answer 4

Road tax is paid to make sure the roads are maintained. I think that's the answer anyway.

Council tax is the one tax I don't understand. It's so expensive in my area and I never seem to see any positive changes coming from the money I pay, just new phone masts and horribly designed cumbersome new buildings in town!!!

I think road tax and income tax are fair enough really but I do think we pay far too much tax and would also love to know where it all really goes to. My colleague reckons that all tax goes on the war.........

Road tax has recently gone up. I wonder if the standards of the roads will go up in unison. Unlikely.

Answer 5

It is really VED Vehicle Excise Duty - you pay for the priveledge of running a car.

All monies raised DO NOT go to funding road repairs, but to the central coffers - like everything else.

Road building & repairs are funded either by local government from their allocated budget, or for example in Scotland 'The Scottish Office' for major and non-urban roads.

In short - it's another stealth tax against the motorists.

Road Tax, Fuel Duty, 'Safety' cameras.....

Answer 6

All UK taxes go into a big pot and are spent on invading iraq or disappearing into the health service with no apparent improvement or education with the same result. Road Tax, unlike its name, is not ring fenced to be spent on the roads. If it were we would have the best road system in the world, rather than the one we have. Q.E.D.

Answer 7

In a nutshell, it's used to pay for construction and maintenance of the roads. Any revenue left over could be used to offset gas taxes, to pay for public transport or to build new infrastructure, among other uses.

Answer 8

Everything and Nothing.

The same as all the other taxes that motorists pay. We are just seen as a cash cow by the Treasury, and milked to the point of 'exhaust'ion.

Answer 9

in case you look at your tax disc you will see the registration form of your previous vehicle written on it. there is your answer. The tax pertains to a particular vehicle. The tax disc you're employing is the disc for yet another vehicle and does not count variety for something on your new vehicle. in any different case some one with 5 vehicles could desire to tax one and only use the disc on the vehicle they use.

Answer 10

Because we have to pay for the goverment to sit around chatting all day, its sure not to fix the bl**dy roads