Whether there's an element of "it's not road tax, it's vehicle excise duty" I don't know, but one way or another the vehicle has to be taxed annually (every vehicle is taxed in January - I can't wait to see the queue in the post office)!
And, if insurance is included in fuel costs, then I just wasted 700 euros on an insurance policy I didn't need....
Someones nose had been growing...