A new campaign (and associated range of products) has been launched to highlight the fact that paying “car tax” (Vehicle Excise Duty) or not has nothing to do with your right to use the public road system.
From the I Pay Road Tax website:
The majority of adult cyclists own cars. Hence they pay Vehicle Excise Duty, mistakenly known as road tax. Winston Churchill abolished road tax in the 1930s. He didn’t want motorists to think a token payment gave them “ownership” of the road. Road tax doesn’t pay for the roads anyway, general taxation does that. Whether you pay VED or not, cyclists have every right to be on the road!
Cyclists on the roads are berated to “Get some road tax!”, and frequently we see articles and letters in the papers from disgruntled motorists, or journalists who have had a bad day, calling for cyclists to be registered and taxed as car drivers are. Sometimes even government gets in on the idea. These writers, and their online commenters, invariably fail to understand that taxing cyclists is a wrong headed idea that is unfair and would never work anyway.
But it’s an idea that won’t go away.
The I Pay Road Tax campaign is aiming to raise awareness of the fact that all UK taxpayers pay for the roads through general taxation. Their plan is to produce a range of cycling jerseys and other products branded with the “I Pay Road Tax” slogan. It’s very early days yet and only a few products are currently available, but the promised range looks interesting and I may buy a water bottle or two to show my support.
For more information, visit I Pay Road Tax.
