The problem with ring fencing any tax is that you can't alter the amounts spent to meet the need. So some years you could have too much money and not be able to spend it all, and other years have lots of half finished roads where the money runs out.

The only problem with the money going into the general exchequer and being dished out as needed, is that often it's either not dished out correctly, or, more often, get siphoned off to cover other spending gaps.

I agree the current VED rules are madness, and the costs for different but similar vehicles can vary wildly.

You could add it to fuel, the more you drive, the more you pay - but it's a bit late for that as the number of electric cars being charged at home or work increases.

You could start road toll charging - easier to implement with electronic number plate readers, but hugely unpopular.

Currently VED is a mess, but it's not a high profile mess. People aren't marching on parliament demanding change and overall compliance is pretty good.

AJGalaxy2012 wrote:

VED should simply be put on fuel. Big cars with lower mileage would be similar to small cars higher mileage. The more fuel you use, the more you pollute and the more you pay. People visiting the UK from europe would also be paying UK VED too. Simple system and absolutely fair for all.

....but you are paying green taxes on the electricity you use to charge it. It wouldnt matter if we attached sails to our vehicles and used the wind, some tree hugger would still insist we where wiping out the planet.

Emperor Mong - Stop it, I'm already jealous  BMW i3 Electric Car
2012 Full Fat RR 4.4 TDV8 (now gone)
2006 VW Touareg 3.0 TDi V6

Emperor Mong wrote:

However, I don't pay fuel duty for my Tesla. In fact, I often pay nothing for the fuel at all. I could drive from London to Edinburgh and not pay a penny.

Enjoy whilst you can.

Fast forward to 2028, budget day. Chancellor speaking...

We have successfully wiped out the combustion engine from our roads... cheers.... and those diesel car manufacturers have all gone to the wall. Cheers....
we used to collect £3billion per annum to pay for the roads for our army of cyclists , gallantly peddling 20 miles to work. Our potholes continue to grow larger, so today I will put a charge of £500 PA on every electric car using our cycling lanes, that used to be called roads... Filters are in fact so good that in certain circumstances, when the ambient air is already polluted, a diesel car will tend to extract more particles from the air than it emits. Emissions Analytics worked with........etc etc

He who dies with the most toys wins...

When living in New Zealand if you drive a diesel you pay for a mileage tax at increments of what you think you will travel or afford
If you are stopped by the police you get a fine on top of mileage you have not paid for the same goes for when you have to get their MOT (WOF) can't renew it until you clear the mileage dept same for selling because the debt passes with the car, ie the next owner.
It is not a legal requirement to have insurance as everything you purchase has an element of tax to cover personal injury,
( work, sport, you're covered, personal claim injury is almost unheard of) If you want to protect your car from damage that's different take out insurance?

AJGalaxy2012 wrote:

I havent seen the reasons, what are they?

1) I understand the split but really the fixed part isn't really appropriate. Why should my second car that I hardly use have to pay full road tax? Why when I'm working offshore should I pay road tax on my car thats not being used?
People living in the countryside now pay tax so it shouldn't change dramatically. The reps doing 60,000 per year will pay substantially more though which in turn could lead to the overall tax amount being reduced for many people.

2) Well that would be easy to change wouldn't it just like most businesses and VAT, straight forward, pay it when you've sold it, claim it when you buy it.

3) Generators pay the vehicle tax part of petrol anyway and its a minuscule amount, insignificant.

4) People owning more than one car, removing road tax from them wont change the parking issue, they still have to have mot and insurance. BMW i3 Electric Car
2012 Full Fat RR 4.4 TDV8 (now gone)
2006 VW Touareg 3.0 TDi V6

Bill wrote:

Enjoy whilst you can.

Fast forward to 2028, budget day. Chancellor speaking...

Today I will put a charge of £500 PA on every electric car using our cycling lanes, that used to be called roads...

AJGalaxy2012 wrote:

1) I understand the split but really the fixed part isn't really appropriate. Why should my second car that I hardly use have to pay full road tax? Why when I'm working offshore should I pay road tax on my car thats not being used?
People living in the countryside now pay tax so it shouldn't change dramatically. The reps doing 60,000 per year will pay substantially more though which in turn could lead to the overall tax amount being reduced for many people.

2) Well that would be easy to change wouldn't it just like most businesses and VAT, straight forward, pay it when you've sold it, claim it when you buy it.

3) Generators pay the vehicle tax part of petrol anyway and its a minuscule amount, insignificant.

4) People owning more than one car, removing road tax from them wont change the parking issue, they still have to have mot and insurance.

3) Anything not used on the road could use another sort of diesel that is tax exempt......
Lets call it 'Red Merle' diesel or 'Red' diesel for short. May work.

Just a thought.

Sadly, our loving government did away with the derugation that allowed the use of red in boats etc. You now have to pay road fuel prices unless it's for agricultural use.