Mrs V's retort to no road tax comments

[youngoldbloke]

this rather feeble argument doesn't even convince me, and I'm a cyclist. Technically / pedantically correct, but utterly irrelevant. similar to saying "beer tax" is actually "liquor excise duty" - so f what?

Far better to argue that bike tax is just stupid - it's a better argument, which should convince anyone who wasn't plain stupid, rather than lose before you've started by some poncy "it's not road tax" flannel..

How about "so how much extra should I have to pay for not driving my car today", or "my daughter's 3, how much should she pay to cycle in my cul-du-sac"

http://ipayroadtax.com/
http://www.cycling-embassy.org.uk/w...-why-should-they-be-given-free-infrastructure
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-23694438
Words ARE important

 

[shouldbeinbed]

well I use my bike on the road without paying it either; doesn't make it not "road tax" though does it.?

I take it you were rather bored last night?

The colloquially named 'road tax' is a duty/tax/levy (pick your favourite) based on the engine emissions of the vehicle. The notion it is a permission slip to use the road isn't that at all, it is a permission slip allowing you to cause a mechanical device to expel noxious fumes into the air. There are any number of exemptions allowed (e.g. Bicycles), some sensible, some rather more capricious.

 

[buggi]

this rather feeble argument doesn't even convince me, and I'm a cyclist. Technically / pedantically correct, but utterly irrelevant. similar to saying "beer tax" is actually "liquor excise duty" - so f what?

Far better to argue that bike tax is just stupid - it's a better argument, which should convince anyone who wasn't plain stupid, rather than lose before you've started by some poncy "it's not road tax" flannel..

How about "so how much extra should I have to pay for not driving my car today", or "my daughter's 3, how much should she pay to cycle in my cul-du-sac"

I see so it is tax just not road tax, must be something like school tax ?

the argument with road tax is this... There is no such thing as road tax, its Vehicle Excise Duty and many drivers presume this is a tax that specifically entitles someone to be on the road bcoz it solely pays for road maintenance. Neither is true. Its simply the governments way of making more money off the motorist The cost of road maintenance comes out of central funds and, yes, VED does go into central funds... But so does income tax and VAT. Therefore cyclists do pay for road maintenance everytime they pay tax (including the VAT when they bought their bike) YET they do not damage the road... So taking that into account they are, in fact, ripped off more than the motorist.

when people tell me i don't pay road tax, I quietly look them up and down and then say "i don't have to pay for sex either mate".

 

[Crackle]

You're just getting a like for the comeback line, Buggi.

 

[simon the viking]

Just a quick update.... Apparently the comments made by her colleagues were pretty obnoxious, venomous (and totally ignorant) and made knowing Swmbo was a keen cyclist.... Her view is that had they made similar comments based on Religion/Gender/Race..... Then H.R would have reprimanded the culprits for unacceptable behaviour but as it was aimed at what some people consider a pastime/hobby it is okay apparently.......

A point of view I hadn't thought of..... and correct

 

[Ian A]

bike is a zero emission vehicle. very low emission vehicles "don't pay 'road tax'". end of.

Indeed. If a low emmision car doesn't have to pay road tax then my cycle commute to work shouldn't cost me more. How much wear on the road does a cyclist cause? There is the cost of the badly designed cycle lanes to consider though. Glad I'm not paying much towards those . The £17 a year in motorbike duty I pay wouldn't cover much of a painted line. There's all kinds of exemptions on paying vehicle excise duty. We don't pay vehicle excise duty for that big wheelchair access van I drive my wife around in after she became disabled through illness a few years ago. That's a big fuel heavy van and we use it only when needed. Cars made before 1st January 1973 are exempt also.

 

[SatNavSaysStraightOn]

I usually just point out that 'we' pay VED for the privilege of leaving our car on the driveway at home... (£260 last month for our 12 year old diesel) that usually defeats non-cyclists completely.

Failing that I start on the vehicles under 100 g/km of carbon dioxide also not paying VED being in Band A....

(I don't mention we only have 1 car which means one of us always cycles...)

 

[boydj]

Just a quick update.... Apparently the comments made by her colleagues were pretty obnoxious, venomous (and totally ignorant) and made knowing Swmbo was a keen cyclist.... Her view is that had they made similar comments based on Religion/Gender/Race..... Then H.R would have reprimanded the culprits for unacceptable behaviour but as it was aimed at what some people consider a pastime/hobby it is okay apparently.......

A point of view I hadn't thought of..... and correct

Comments like that are a form of bullying and are unacceptable in the workplace. I'm sure a complaint to HR would bear that out.

 

[simon the viking]

Comments like that are a form of bullying and are unacceptable in the workplace. I'm sure a complaint to HR would bear that out.

To be fair I think she just was happy just to get the upper hand with her reply but it did annoy her

 

[boydj]

To be fair I think she just was happy just to get the upper hand with her reply but it did annoy her

She should take a note of who said what and when for now if she's happy to let it lie. If it happens again then she should let them know that their comments are unacceptable and could generate a formal complaint. There is a fine line between legitimate banter and oppressive behaviour - your wife has to decide on which side of the line the comments have fallen.

 

[TheDoctor]

If anyone's got a good reason why bikes should pay more VED than , say, a Porsche Panamera I'd be delighted to hear it!