[magnetic-recoil]

I am sorry but you are wrong about road tax - the name "road tax" never existed in the law, the tax that became VED was always legally called something else. Calling a fee required to drive your vehicle on the road a "road tax" is a perfectly legitimate use of the English language.

In all other regards you are correct though, there is VAT to be paid on electricity, and electric vehicles must be registered for tax even though they don't have to pay.

[wwqrd]

Plenty of vehicles can be driven on the road without paying road tax is the thing. So why would you call it road tax?

[magnetic-recoil]

It's called road tax because you need to pay it before you can take your vehicle on the road. You can own a car and keep it in your garage and you don't have to pay any tax on it - it's not a car tax, it's a road tax.

It's an error to assume that people call taxes by what they pay for, the common name of a tax is what makes you liable for it. Income tax is paid when you earn income, insurance tax is paid when you take out an insurance policy, road tax is charged if you want to take your vehicle on the roads.

'plenty of vehicles' is also just bicycles and carts AFAIK, any other vehicle requires registration and tax (even if the rate is £0). In any case, it doesn't matter that not all road users pay road tax, we still call income tax as such even though not all earners pay it!

As an aside, I don't own a car and in fact prefer to cycle; I simply object to a factually incorrect and nonsensical prescriptivist campaign against how normal people speak.

[ndsipa_pomu]

No VED for horses, skateboards or scooters