Q I have been operating a rigid vehicle and now I
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want to change to an articulated tractive unit with which I intend to pull other people's trailers. How should this be taxed?
A Section 6 of Schedule 4 of the Vehicles Excise Act 1971 states that "where a goods vehicle used for drawing a trailer has the trailer attached to it by partial superimposition, the vehicle and trailer shall, for the purposes of determining the annual rate of duty applicable to the vehicle, be treated as if they together formed a single vehicle. . . ."
Thus, you will have to tax your tractive unit as if it was matched with the heaviest trailer if you do not wish to be restricted as to the type of trailer you can accept for haulage.
Of course, if you know that you will want to haul only flat trailers, for instance, then you can tax the tractive unit matched with this type of trailer. You will not be able to accept other types such as van-type vehicles without adjusting the tax, however.