Car tax disc to be axed after 93 years

Iceweasel

james_joyce wrote: »

Or if we're feeling really pedantic we'll point out that Churchill was a backbencher in 1937!

I had look at this whole thing again so would I be right in saying that The Road Fund was abolished in 1936 by Winston Churchill, as the Chancellor of the Exchequer.

Any other corrections?

I'm happy to be corrected as I always thought it was 1937.

Richard53

foofi22 wrote: »

Unfortunately this suggestion is far too sensible. However I presume any government doesn't want to be seen increasing fuel prices (especially at the moment).

Oh, I dunno. The increase on fuel duty would only be a couple of pence per litre. I'm sure they could sell that as "Government abolishes the hated Road Tax* entirely, and puts a penny or two on fuel". I'd vote for that.

*Note, not VED - this is advertising, remember.

Roland_Sausage wrote: »

At least we can bid farewell the (semi) annual palaver of having to stay up until midnight on the last day of the month to change the discs over at the precise moment in order to comply with the law.

Does anyone really do that? I put the new disc on as soon as it arrives, with the old one behind it just in case I am stopped. It's never been an issue.

Joe_Horner

Buzby wrote: »

As for how will 'we' know a car is taxed - easy, there will be an App for that, in just the same way there is for MoT and Insurance (MIB).

The problem with that is that, as of May this year, there are about 6.9 million adults in the country who've never used the internet (including mobile apps) according to the ONS [http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/dcp171778_322713.pdf]. That's about 14% of the adult population, and they're not all of pension age! On top of that, 17% of households have no internet connection, so checking online will be a major inconvenience for them.

For MOTs, a standard receipt is issued which most people keep even though it's not an official certificate. For insurance, you still have the option, if you wish, of visiting or phoning a broker and having a proper paper certificate snet in the proper post.

If they bring this in, it'll be "online or nothing" to check and that'll be 17% of households (a mix of the poorest and / or oldest) at a serious disadvantage.

paddedjohn

Iceweasel wrote: »

As far as I can see - it's not the paying money to use a car that is being abolished - it's only the physical disc itself.

Winston Churchill abolished Car Tax back in 1937 and the VED just goes into the general funds, along with all the other kinds of 'tax' we all pay.

So we all pay for the roads - including cyclists - who are often accused (or shouted at) of using them for free.

I thought the Direct Debit option was a good idea - until I read this bit:

The new option of paying by monthly direct debit is also expected to cost 5% more than paying for a full year in one go.

No benefit at all.[/QUOTE]


At present you pay 10% (to be reduced to 5%) more for buying 6 month rather than 12 so only having to pay 5% more to spread the cost over 12 months is a saving, so definitely a benefit to those that cant pay in full.

paddedjohn

Tilt wrote: »

Well it give you a clue to the whether the other driver who has just rear-ended you, is insured or not for a start. Without anything on display, how is the average person going to know whether other cars are fully legit? There are those of us that like to know these things :think:

Not having a tax disc does not equal not having insurance, conversely, having a tax disc does not mean the car is insured either so without doing checks the average person wouldn't know if the car was fully legit, same as at present.

Steve059

Joe_Horner wrote: »

The problem with that is that, as of May this year, there are about 6.9 million adults in the country who've never used the internet (including mobile apps) according to the ONS [http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/dcp171778_322713.pdf]. That's about 14% of the adult population, and they're not all of pension age! On top of that, 17% of households have no internet connection, so checking online will be a major inconvenience for them.

For MOTs, a standard receipt is issued which most people keep even though it's not an official certificate. For insurance, you still have the option, if you wish, of visiting or phoning a broker and having a proper paper certificate snet in the proper post.

If they bring this in, it'll be "online or nothing" to check and that'll be 17% of households (a mix of the poorest and / or oldest) at a serious disadvantage.

You can still tax your car over the phone or at the Post Office. You should still get the renewal form in the post in a year's time.

Joe_Horner

Steve059 wrote: »

You can still tax your car over the phone or at the Post Office. You should still get the renewal form in the post in a year's time.

Yes, you can buy tax in either of those ways, but you can't see if the car you're about to buy is already taxed using them. A tax disk in the windscreen is not a guarantee, but it's a lot closer to one than just taking the seller's word for it, and it's all that's available to those nearly 7 million non-internet users.

Even if they were switched on enough to ask the seller to show them online, they literally won't know what they're looking at on the screen - yes, many people ARE still that naieve when it comes to the internet!

If you do use the internet, you've checked before setting off to view, convinced him to let you double check using his WiFi before handing the cash over, and driven away, there's nothing to stop him SORNing for a refund the second you drive away. Currently, he can SORN online but he can't claim the refund without the disk you've just driven away with.

paddedjohn

Good point regarding SORN.

Iceweasel

I think it will have to be payable by Direct Debit monthly in advance and non-refundable.

Most, if not all, of the problems that have been highlighted just fade away if that was the case.

That way you sell the car, cancel your DD and the new owner has the rest of the month to get their DD up and running.

In the words of Jeremy Clarkson - "How hard can it be?"

Rover_Driver

Joe_Horner wrote: »

he can't claim the refund without the disk you've just driven away with.

Depends what he puts on a form V33.