Editing Vehicle Excise Duty (section)

{{Short description|Motor vehicle tax in the United Kingdom}}
'''Vehicle Excise Duty''' ('''VED'''; also known as "vehicle tax",  "car tax", and "road tax", formerly as a "tax disc"), is an annual tax levied as an [[excise]] [[duty (tax)|duty]], and which must be paid for most types of powered vehicles which are to be used or parked on [[public road]]s in the United Kingdom.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/TravelAndTransport/Highwaycode/DG_069869 |title=The road user and the law |quote=Most of the provisions apply on all roads throughout Great Britain, although there are some exceptions. |work=Direct.gov.uk}}</ref> Registered vehicles that are not being used or parked on public roads and which have been taxed since 31 January 1998 must be covered by a '''Statutory Off Road Notification''' ('''SORN''') to avoid VED. In 2016, VED generated approximately £6 [[billion]] for the [[Exchequer]].<ref name="rac-revenue">{{Cite web |url=https://www.racfoundation.org/motoring-faqs/economics#a15 |title=FAQs about motoring taxation and cost of running a car |website=www.racfoundation.org |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180328102144/https://www.racfoundation.org/motoring-faqs/economics |archive-date=28 March 2018 |url-status=live |access-date=28 March 2018}}</ref><ref name="dft-stats-2017">{{cite web |title=Transport Statistics Great Britain 2017 |url=https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/661933/tsgb-2017-report-summaries.pdf |publisher=Department for Transport |access-date=28 March 2018|page=25|date=November 2017}}</ref>

A vehicle tax was first introduced in Britain in 1888. [[Finance Act#Finance Act 1920|In 1920]], an excise duty was introduced that specifically applied to motor vehicles; initially it was [[Hypothecated tax|hypothecated]] (ring-fenced or earmarked) for road construction and paid directly into a special [[Road Fund]]. After 1937, this reservation of vehicle revenue for roads was ended, and instead the revenue was paid into the [[Consolidated Fund]] – the general pot of money held by government. Since then, maintenance of the UK road network has been funded out of general taxation, of which VED is a part.<ref name="ved-briefing">{{Cite web |url=http://www.parliament.uk/briefing-papers/SN01482.pdf |title=Parliamentary Briefing Paper: Vehicle Excise Duty (VED)|last=Butcher |first=Louise  |date=23 November 2017 |website=House of Commons Library |access-date=13 February 2013}}</ref>