RE: No more tax discs!

[madbadger]

Richard A said:

liamthedude said:

Did I read the article correctly?

12 months tax 5% up
6 months tax 5% down

I don't understand, surely everyone will just get 6 months then?? or will 12 months still work out cheaper??

12 months is only 5% more if you opt for a monthly rather than annual DD.

The 6 months down is only because you currently pay a penalty if you opt for 6 months. Hence two 6 month discs being more expensive than the 12 month one.

Think of it as less of a penalty rather than a reduction.

[rigga]

Cliftonite said:

Tomatogti said:

But no tax invalidates your insurance so you aren't insured either.

This nonsense again . . . .

Tax has nothing to do with insurance

[Terminator X]

Prelude to massive hike in VED rates "disguised" within modest monthly increases ... s!

TX.

[Walter Sobchak]

Tomatogti said:

But no tax invalidates your insurance so you aren't insured either.

No it doesn't.

[AJB]

Dr G said:

SaudiJim said:

The tax should be added to fuel but that is too simple.

I've been saying the same for years. Fair and virtually free to implement.

Me too. I really don't understand why they don't just do this... Other than the government jobs which would be lost by reducing admin in general, I guess.

Since insurance and MOT have been checked electronically anyway, there's be no benefit to having a separate tax or tax disc in my opinion.

[Terminator X]

smilo996 said:

So more vehicle numberplate recognition cameras so the govt can ensure everyone is paying but of course villans now will only have to pay for a set of plates and not a forged tax disc as well?

We need lots more to catch the nasty VED dodgers and in no way will they be used to fine us for minor traffic transgressions in the future. Road pricing did you say

TX.

[AJB]

Afromonk said:

However, it does beg the question how will sellers of cars prove to buyers that it has so many months of tax left? unless of course you can direct them to an electronic proof?

Electronic proof here

I guess the only problem is how you stop the seller cashing in the tax after you've bought the car, but before DVLA have received the paperwork...

[zebedee]

vxsmithers said:

RemarkLima said:

You have, they really do not walk along the street checking for out of date tax,

Actually they do, that is the job of the fake police (PCSOs) as I have been left notes on my windscreen about not having a front plate / no tax disc visible when parked on my driveway.

Yes, and as per my post below they even watch cars driving past if the colour is wrong. I should know, I got stopped.

[Dreamspeed]

I like the idea of no more Tax disc; it’ll make my windscreen look a lot cleaner, but the idea we still have to pay is still a bitter pill to swallow.

The trouble is it’s always the poor that is worse off. Most will have no option but to pay via Direct Debit with the added 5%. It may seem “more affordable” but this is just spin. You still have to find the extra 5% from your wage packet each month, and ultimately you’ll be worse off than someone who can pay the 12 months in full.

Also if most people are paying monthly now, it is far easier for the government to INCREASE your TAX without you feeling so bad. For example, if your month Direct debit has gone up “Just” £3 per month, you may not care, but if I said your road TAX is going up by £36 a year! Well you get the idea.

A few comments have made the point to add the Road TAX onto the Fuel TAX. But we pay way too much already on fuel in the form of TAX. Here are the figures: for every liter of petrol you buy only 38.9% is actually for the fuel. 3.5% is for the forecourt and a staggering 57.6% is Duty/VAT.

See source: http://www.davidjbell.me.uk/2012/03/08/fuel-cost-b...

We actually Pay VAT on DUTY? Where’s the “Value” in that? So no, the government need to stop squandering our money we already pay, and drop road TAX all together.

Maybe then the poor could turn up the heating a little this winter, rather than follow David Cameron’s advice of “Wearing jumpers” when asked what the poor should do if they couldn't afford to pay the heating bill!

[Blue Oval84]

loudlashadjuster said:

So:

• Monthly DD to cost 5% more? - WTF?

So, we remove all the faffing about with paper and they want to charge us more for collecting it in the manner that most businesses prefer and indeed offer discounts for?

SMMFH

Not quite, what they're saying is that at present-

12 months up front = £X
6 months up front = £X + 10%

In the future it will be-
12 months up front = £X
Monthly Direct Debit = £X + 5% / 12

It's a win for the motorist who can't afford to pay for a year in one go as it's cheaper than the 6 month disc, and easier to budget. It also still allows people that can afford it in one go to pay less than those who cost the DVLA more by not paying in advance.

[RenesisEvo]

Getragdogleg said:

How do you report scummy neighbours for not having tax ?

That is a bit of a concern, there have been several instances I've managed to have an abandoned vehicle seized and moved by reporting it when the tax runs out.

Getragdogleg said:

I run a large fleet of vehicles and the quickest way to check when tax is due on any of them is to walk past and look at what the disc says.

Could you use a spreadsheet, or calendar entries with a reminder set for 6/12months time for each vehicle? Once you get past the initial set-up time you'll never have to check each one individually again.

[killingjoker]

Terminator X said:

Prelude to massive hike in VED rates "disguised" within modest monthly increases ... s!

TX.

At last. Glad someone else is awake enough to spot/understand this.

[ManOpener]

ToothbrushMan said:

Seems there are better areas that the Chancellor could be aiming his beady eye over. Yes a paper disc is analogue in a digital world but the system worked.

I suppose that depends on your definition of "worked", given that I've had tax disks sent to non-existent addresses that I've never provided and one sent with entirely the wrong vehicle details on.

[Turbobanana]

mrmr96 said:

dandarez said:

Glad I've a lot of my old tax discs from many years past. They are collectable and now fetch good money. This will, in time, make them even more collectable. Don't laugh, it's not just the paper disc, it's what marque is on the disc that can make some rocket in value.

Huh? Who collects tax discs? I know you might keep the old ones for some reason, but who would want to buy them from you?

One who collects tax discs is called a velologist. Read all about it at www.velology.com , if you can stay awake long enough.

[AJB]

Dreamspeed said:

A few comments have made the point to add the Road TAX onto the Fuel TAX. But we pay way too much already on fuel in the form of TAX. Here are the figures: for every liter of petrol you buy only 38.9% is actually for the fuel. 3.5% is for the forecourt and a staggering 57.6% is Duty/VAT.

See source: http://www.davidjbell.me.uk/2012/03/08/fuel-cost-b...

We actually Pay VAT on DUTY? Where’s the “Value” in that? So no, the government need to stop squandering our money we already pay, and drop road TAX all together.

Whether the motorist is taxed too much, the right amount, or too little is a separate argument though...

Road tax/VED is a complete waste of time, admin, and therefore money in my opinion. If a given amount of tax is to be raised from motorists, it would be fairer and simpler to do that through fuel, and that would mean increasing fuel tax slightly to cover the scrapped VED without changing the overall tax.

[mikeyr]

killingjoker said:

Terminator X said:

Prelude to massive hike in VED rates "disguised" within modest monthly increases ... s!

TX.

At last. Glad someone else is awake enough to spot/understand this.

Other than all the other posts that already said it?

As I and other posters have stated it will make it easier to make increases look less scary. But that's not a reason not to offer a DD option surely?

On a wider note, this thread certainly does show peoples inherent resistance to change - if a paper disc is so important to display why not one that shows the car is roadworthy, or insured?

[J4CKO]

Just save your VED up monthly, if you pay it today and its £240 for the year, just put £20 a month to one side, it isnt rocket science, I have several savings accounts and my online banking (when it works, Natwest...) allows me to assign them a name so I have one called VED, mine is £490 a year, so doing this will save me £24.50. People sometimes end up having to spend more money than they need to through not havign enough, a lot however just allow themselves to be fleeced because they are too stupid or lazy to manage their money and take the easy option, then moan about being skint.

I dont think the government will hike it any differently, they arent flogging over fifties policies "For less than the cost of a daily paper", George Osbourne isnt going to stand there saying that, he will say "VED has gone up 10 percent, like it or lump it, I am the chancellor and there is fk all you can do about it plebs"

Its about time they got rid of the disk, it is a pain in the arse, at least they have got round to doing it.

[Quikcurl]

Turbobanana said:

One who collects tax discs is called a velologist. Read all about it at www.velology.com , if you can stay awake long enough.

Wow. That's mad. I like it!

Also, anyone know how to get superglue off a windscreen..!?
I may have recently glued my PH tax disc holder to the screen of my Land Rover to stop it falling off on the bumpy stuff!

[RemarkLima]

Tomatogti said:

RemarkLima said:

dxg said:

Call me paranoid, but this could be very useful to those who want to stop someone being mobile. A quick side of the road of the check because 'database says no' and no more car (because insurance will also be invalid)...

Isn't no tax a civil offence, and hence just warrants a fine? Only a lack of insurance and / or MOT is criminal, and would stop you from being able to drive any further?

I may be wrong...

But no tax invalidates your insurance so you aren't insured either.

Does it? Are you sure? I thought as long as the car was roadworthy (i.e. a valid MOT and not smashed to bits in the meantime) then you can be insured. Tax is a civil matter and unrelated AFAIK...

[Cliftonite]

rigga said:

Cliftonite said:

Tomatogti said:

But no tax invalidates your insurance so you aren't insured either.

This nonsense again . . . .

Tax has nothing to do with insurance

Unless, of course, your vehicle is taxed but is not insured . . .

Being paranoid does not mean they are not out to get me . . .