Currently road tax is calculated by engine capacity, with a year’s road tax for small capacity bikes (up to 150cc) costing £27, rising in brackets up to £125 per year for machines over 600cc. The group argues that motorcycles are among the lightest and least damaging vehicles on public roads, and that using engine size is not the correct way to calculate tax – especially as cars are assessed on CO2 emissions and heavy goods vehicles on their weight and impact on road wear.
The letter, which is signed by six former cabinet members, including hardcore motorcyclist Steve Barclay, MP for North East Cambridgeshire, argues that ‘… the current system is anomalous within the Government’s own framework. VED for cars is linked to environmental performance. VED for HGVs reflects road impact. VED for motorcycles reflects neither. Engine size is not a reliable indicator of emissions, road damage or mileage, and its continued use as sole determinant of motorcycle VED lacks a coherent policy rationale.’
My bike weighs 200Kg, and takes up the space of a quarter of a car. As we can & do filter - motorcyclists have much less road space impact compared to any sort of 4 wheeled car. Yet - for road tax - I pay as much as & in many cases more than a car. Robbers!
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