Cyclists Do Pay Road Taxes
Believe it or not, cyclists are subjected to all the 'road taxes' applied to everyone else.
One thing which annoys many cyclists is the fallacy perpetuated that 'cyclists do not pay Road Tax' and therefore somehow have less 'right' to use the roads and that they certainly should not have any right or consideration when it comes to transportation infrastructure. The argument is often thrown by poor drivers who use this as an excuse for their poor driving skills when complaining about cyclists on 'their' roads.
So let's get one thing straight: Cyclists *do* Pay Road Tax. Well, at least as much as anyone else pays 'Road Tax'.
You See 'Road Tax' Does Not Exist
What people mean when they refer to Road Tax, Car Tax, Road Fund Licence or the tax paid to allow a motorised vehicle to be used on the roads is Vehicle Excise Duty. Road Tax was abolished in 1939, as it was felt that having a tax to use roads, it could lead motorists to think that they have more right to use the roads than others. Therefore is no such thing as Road Tax.
Vehicle Excise Duty (VED)
Vehicle Excise Duty (VED) is a pollution tax which is loosely based on a vehicles CO2 emissions and therefore it's fuel economy. From 1 April 2014 the keeper of a car in band A (up to 100 grams CO2 per km) pays nothing in VED whereas the owner of a car in band M (over 255 grams CO2 per km) pays £500 per annum (rates are even higher in the first year). If pedal cycles were subjected to the same pollution tax it would be as band A - zero, as bikes do not burn any fuel (other than pies and pasties).
Ah But Cyclists Don't Pay Any 'Vehicle Tax' 'VED' Or Whatever You Call It
We do, actually. Just because someone owns a bike and cycles it to work, it does not mean that they do not have to pay VED on their cars or other vehicles. It would be fantastic if we could evade VED by just claiming that we are cyclists and therefore we don't have to pay it. We can't, we still have to pay VED when we own a car, even if we leave it in the garage.
But If You Do Not Own A Car - You Do Not Pay Towards The Roads
Wrong again I'm afraid. The funds allocated to road building, developing the infrastructure and for road repairs do not come from VED (otherwise wrongly referred to as Road Tax). The funds come from General Taxation: Income Tax, Council Tax, VAT and all the other taxes we are subjected to pay. Again it would be nice be excluded from paying all or part of these taxes on the basis of having a rusty bike in the garage which comes out once a year, but we can't. Even a professional cyclist riding in The Tour de France cannot wriggle out of paying tax on that basis. You see, cyclists DO pay road tax just as much as anyone else does. We all pay tax, we all pay tax to support the road network, and we all have a right to use it.