Abolition Of Car Tax Disc

[sunny-dave]

From 1st October you will no longer have a paper disc to display - no change in the VED rates, just the abolition of the actual disc.

http://tinyurl.com/jw2rkqc

What do you think of this?

It means that the ordinary 'man in the street' has no way of knowing whether or not a vehicle is taxed. Only the Police and other 'appropriate authorities' will have access to a database showing details of a vehicle's tax status.

I think it's just plain wrong.

In fact (rather than abolishing the tax disc) we should be adopting the Irish system where every vehicle has to display three discs - tax, insurance and NCT (=MoT).

That way everyone could see who is legal and who isn't - which would be (in my opinion) 'A Good Thing'.

dave

[factor-fiction]

I doubt they catch many evaders from tip offs from the man in the street- or at least it's too much trouble to follow them up

[factor-fiction]

I'd rather abolish it and add the cost to fuel duty. I can see the changeover may be awkward but it must save on the admin costs

[sunny-dave]

I know it's possible to check an individual car online at

https://www.vehicleenquiry.service.gov.uk/

but that's a bit of a faff compared with looking at a disc.

[237SJ]

There has been more than one occasion when I have reported a dumped vehicle to the council. The reason that I knew it was dumped was because the tax disc had expired or there was no tax disc. People will be less inclined to report abandoned vehicles now IMO

[sunny-dave]

I agree that VED should be abolished and added to fuel duty - much the most difficult tax to avoid & therefore very efficient.

[hc4361]

But many vehicles are exempt from the road fund licence, for various reasons. Should the drivers of these vehicles have to claim back the tax paid via fuel?

[factor-fiction]

except by those who manage to get hold of red diesel, or fill up on the way into the UK

[factor-fiction]

Hi hc- can you give me an example of one that's exempt please.

[Prudie]

I agree with 237, it's the dumped vehicles that will blend into the background parked up in residential streets with nothing to make them stand out. I think lots of people report abandoned vehicles rather than tax dodgers.

[bookbinder]

Why should the ordinary 'man in the street' need to know if a vehicle is taxed or not? That's a matter for the police, surely? Incidentally, I bought a new car a couple of weeks ago, and the dealer told me that the police can use something called automatic number plate recognition to check if a vehicle is taxed, and they don't check tax discs on vehicles any more.

[factor-fiction]

I know some pay different levels but that tends to reflect engine size anyway, so bigger cars will use more fuel and pay more duty.
I don't know about exempt cars though - there can't be many can there?

[Milvus]

Exemption list here FF
https://www.gov.uk/vehicle-exempt-from-car-tax

[Prudie]

My OH has a classic car. The tax was free but he still had a disc to display. It's cars made before sometime in early 70s.

[factor-fiction]

Thanks. I don't understand why pre74 are exempt- perhaps theya re rarely on the road so hardly use much fuel anyway.
Electric cars won't be affected.
The only area that would need looking at is disabled passenger/driver cars. I'm sure something could be worked out

[DaisyNonna]

Agreed, Dave. Police seem to want keep tabs on us whist not allowing us to know when others are transgressing.

[sunny-dave]

I didn't know that "Disabled" vehicles were exempt.

Without wanting to start a row, I just wonder why that is the case?

[factor-fiction]

I wonder if quite a few tax discs are forgeries so these untaxed cars are not being spotted by the public

[boxtops]

I've only ever once looked at someone else's tax disc, when a car appeared to be abandoned in our road. I never take any notice of them otherwise.

[vulcan42]

At least with a tax disc if you have an accident you can check the registration number checks out, no disc and you won't know if the number plates are false or not. Does this mean the police will have to attend every accident however minor?

[gness]

I agree with you on the three discs on show, Dave......makes it more difficult to be on the road with an uninsured car....x