Out of date and unfair Vehicle Excise Duty (road tax) system
Discussion
I just find the whole system unfair and flawed!
So they force people into smaller, more frugal cars. People then don't need to spend as much on fuel or road tax, the Government then get paid less tax in the process?!! So then what?..
I'm probably being naive here but i'm getting sick of the increasing bull involved in driving a car these days........Excise Duty being just one sore point!!
- Why does road tax have to be in whole months? Not flexible enough for modern times!
- Why should a car on a limited mileage insurance policy have to pay full tax when it will spend most of its time off the road?
- Why should the old couple who take the car out once a week have to pay as much as someone who uses the car everyday?
- Why are 4x4 drivers unfairly punished for no apparent reason (green my ass)!
- Why should engine size make a difference to the cost of road tax? (older cars) Doesn't affect the road maintenance involved!
So they force people into smaller, more frugal cars. People then don't need to spend as much on fuel or road tax, the Government then get paid less tax in the process?!! So then what?..
I'm probably being naive here but i'm getting sick of the increasing bull involved in driving a car these days........Excise Duty being just one sore point!!
Edited by Sifly on Wednesday 7th September 14:34
They could make it very simple.
Abolish road tax, put the tax on (the already overtaxed) fuel price.
The more you use, the more you pay - simple.
e-petition already setup, but only 369 signatures (typical UK apathy and lack of exposure for the e-petition no doubt).
See here and sign away:
http://epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/742
Abolish road tax, put the tax on (the already overtaxed) fuel price.
The more you use, the more you pay - simple.
e-petition already setup, but only 369 signatures (typical UK apathy and lack of exposure for the e-petition no doubt).
See here and sign away:
http://epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/742
Edited by Stig on Wednesday 7th September 13:54
Stig said:
e-petition already setup, but only 369 signatures (typical UK apathy and lack of exposure for the e-petition no doubt)
Or that there are about 4 millions petitions on there asking for the same thing - all with 1-100 signatures.I've signed so many that I'm now bored with it. However, I have signed this one too.
Even the ones that get half the population signing them, don't seem to get anything changed.
It'd probably cost me more money if they put 1p on the price of a litre, but I still believe it would be an easy way to ensure all cars are 'taxed' fairly.
Maybe even put another 1p on per litre to cover the MIB's uninsured driver's scheme - rather than adding 5% on our insurance premiums for it. That way you'd not be stung for an extra £10-£100 just for doing 1,000 miles.
Edited by mmm-five on Wednesday 7th September 14:08
Forgetting all the other failings of the system, I still find it amazing that in this day and age we're still having to stick a little paper circle in our windscreens to prove the car is taxed. For who's benefit I'm not sure. If it isn't visible, we are fined whether the car is taxed or not. Seriously, it's 2011 FFS!
It is a poor system.
But, currently I belive it's used to check that cars aren’t running without MOT and insurance.
MOTs are now computerised.
With the new insurance law coming into place in the next few months (or whenever it is) then the road tax/post office checks on MOT and Insurance will be less important.
So, perhaps what's happening now is paving the way for the abolition of road tax.
But, currently I belive it's used to check that cars aren’t running without MOT and insurance.
MOTs are now computerised.
With the new insurance law coming into place in the next few months (or whenever it is) then the road tax/post office checks on MOT and Insurance will be less important.
So, perhaps what's happening now is paving the way for the abolition of road tax.
Snowboy said:
It is a poor system.
But, currently I belive it's used to check that cars aren’t running without MOT and insurance.
MOTs are now computerised.
With the new insurance law coming into place in the next few months (or whenever it is) then the road tax/post office checks on MOT and Insurance will be less important.
So, perhaps what's happening now is paving the way for the abolition of road tax.
But all the 'illegal' driver has to do now is find a similar car to his own and 'borrow' the registration. He instantly becomes invisible to the computer system.But, currently I belive it's used to check that cars aren’t running without MOT and insurance.
MOTs are now computerised.
With the new insurance law coming into place in the next few months (or whenever it is) then the road tax/post office checks on MOT and Insurance will be less important.
So, perhaps what's happening now is paving the way for the abolition of road tax.
With the VED & possibly 3rd party insurance put onto fuel, he'd be paying some of his share every time he needed petrol (assuming he doesn't steal that as well).
Gad-Westy said:
Forgetting all the other failings of the system, I still find it amazing that in this day and age we're still having to stick a little paper circle in our windscreens to prove the car is taxed. For who's benefit I'm not sure. If it isn't visible, we are fined whether the car is taxed or not. Seriously, it's 2011 FFS!
They've actually done away with the paper disc in western Australia when I was there, saved a fortune iirc (processing time and printing out the paper). And that state has considerably less cars than the UK has.
It is unfair and encourages lazy-ness in me. My GTE does about 1k miles a year, but I still have to tax it the same as my other car that does about 10k a year. So, if I've got some spare time, I might take the GTE out for a spin, or to the shops, purely because I've paid to insure it and tax it, so I'm going to bloody well use it. After I've put some poxy fuel in, of course.
Astra Dan said:
It is for all 5 of my cars, and will continue to be for quite a few years yet. Not everyone buys shiny and new!
I know (it is for mine too), but I was talking about new ones! The pre-2001 system is just a relic, probably more hassle than it's worth to change it (did they record CO2 emissions back then?)twazzock said:
I know (it is for mine too), but I was talking about new ones! The pre-2001 system is just a relic, probably more hassle than it's worth to change it (did they record CO2 emissions back then?)
No, but they did record the weight. Would this be more fair? Not sure.Emissions is a load of bull anyway. 3 of mine are too old to have cats fitted, so they produce less CO2. So, make it law to pretty much need a cat to pass emissions test, so the CO is transformed to CO2 and then charge for the amount of CO2 the car then produces! But do my older cars get a discount for the reduced amount of CO2 they produce? No.
Brilliant.
Here's two more to add to the list of why it is s
t:
1) Mopeds pay more road tax than pre-1970s cars and sub 99gCO2/km cars... even if the mopeds themselves are both pre-1970 and sub 99g. That, my friend, is bonkers.
2) Identical cars pay different rates of VED if one is registered before March 2001 and one is registered after that same date.
t:1) Mopeds pay more road tax than pre-1970s cars and sub 99gCO2/km cars... even if the mopeds themselves are both pre-1970 and sub 99g. That, my friend, is bonkers.
2) Identical cars pay different rates of VED if one is registered before March 2001 and one is registered after that same date.
Sticking it onto the price of petrol won't work. Anyone that does lots of miles will have to bear the brunt of the price rise while the enthusiasts with "expensive" low mileage cars pay less. That won't wash with the general public and there would be uproar. I can see the Daily Maul headline now
"Motorists out of pocket again so super rich can drive their supercars for less"
Or somesuch nonsense.
And the haulage industry wouldn't be too happy about it either as it would push their costs up due to the sheer number of miles they do.
And it's such a small amount of money we are talking about in the grand scheme of things anyway, it's never going to get much press coverage. For an average car it's only £13-odd quid per month.
"Motorists out of pocket again so super rich can drive their supercars for less"
Or somesuch nonsense.
And the haulage industry wouldn't be too happy about it either as it would push their costs up due to the sheer number of miles they do.
And it's such a small amount of money we are talking about in the grand scheme of things anyway, it's never going to get much press coverage. For an average car it's only £13-odd quid per month.
V88Dicky said:
But what would the thousands of civil servants at the DVLA do then? 
I would guess instead of wasting tax money through a bonkers red-tape machine, they would waste taxes by sitting around on their arses smoking endless tabs.I can't imagine they would mind too much either way.
With reference to haulage companies and maybe taxis etc. What if they kept their fuel receipts and claimed back some of the extra tax added?
Really, the only fair way is to tax according to the amount of use, and if people have chosen to set up a business that uses the roads heavily, then that's a shame but it's not fair that everyone pays grossly unrelated taxes.
As an example, the 7.5 tonne lorries we have on hire at work are £165 a year to tax. My car is £215. How is that fair? I don't care what emissions standards that lorry meets, it belches black smoke and does 12MPG on a good day and smashes the road to bits.
Really, the only fair way is to tax according to the amount of use, and if people have chosen to set up a business that uses the roads heavily, then that's a shame but it's not fair that everyone pays grossly unrelated taxes.
As an example, the 7.5 tonne lorries we have on hire at work are £165 a year to tax. My car is £215. How is that fair? I don't care what emissions standards that lorry meets, it belches black smoke and does 12MPG on a good day and smashes the road to bits.
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