Road Tax

[davemercedes]

I was just reading the scare about Hammond being likely to pound diesel drivers in the Autumn budget and I came across this story... http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-42009111

Apparently the government have found out that instead of saving £10M removing the paper tax disc has cost £107M as the number of unlicensed vehicles on the road has tripled and the figures show there were 755,000 unlicensed vehicles last year.

What a surprise!

I bet the instigator of that policy is on the honours list!

 

[M80]

...and if you don't feel a need to pay the tax why insure and MOT the vehicle?

 

[EmilysDad]

That'd be a nice couple of grand I'd save if I didn't bother

 

[ajlsl600]

just get plod to drive around with a crusher on tow, no tax mot or inssurance pick the car up crush it, cant happen again,in that car. n drop the prxcks in it a couple of miles offshore give em chance to ponder on error of their ways

 

[davemercedes]

...and if you don't feel a need to pay the tax why insure and MOT the vehicle?

Funny, all the police tv programs show them confiscating cars from "the lads etc" for the crusher.
- That might be an interesting Freedom of Information question...

But either way that nice Mr Hammond is going to pick our pockets soon!

 

[John Laidlaw]

The article assumes that the dodgers have tripled as a result of the removal of paper discs....how can they know that I wonder?

 

[L John]

Everyone I know said this would happen even before they actually abolished the physical tax disc.

How do we sort the problem though, ah yes, make the honest guy pay more to make up for the losses.
Guy Fawkes had a plot but it was foiled, since then the government have lost it.

 

[A.J.]

With all of the cut backs , when did you last see a Police car, let alone with ANPR ?? Don't think we have Police cars in Suffolk, or Police men for that matter. We definitely havn't got traffic wardens in this town. Licence to do just what you want.

Off on a bit of a tangent but it illustrates the lack of Policing, I walked up a one way street with my wife this afternoon and there were cars parked the wrong way in the street ??**?? FFS

 

[Yugguy]

Tax disc was a quick and easy visual check.

 

[M80]

While I don't condone not paying road tax (VED), and before someone points out that it isn't road tax I can't see where else I will use my vehicle,
as it's electronic (internet) and we can tax online, then sorn online, but still have to pay a full month tax at each side of the deal the Gov't screwing us by not allowing a daily tax might be seen as a justification for screwing them back.

 

[davemercedes]

With all of the cut backs , when did you last see a Police car, let alone with ANPR ?? Don't think we have Police cars in Suffolk, or Police men for that matter. We definitely havn't got traffic wardens in this town. Licence to do just what you want.

Off on a bit of a tangent but it illustrates the lack of Policing, I walked up a one way street with my wife this afternoon and there were cars parked the wrong way in the street ??**?? FFS

Well, they were obviously only going one way at the time!

 

[davemercedes]

While I don't condone not paying road tax (VED), and before someone points out that it isn't road tax I can't see where else I will use my vehicle,
as it's electronic (internet) and we can tax online, then sorn online, but still have to pay a full month tax at each side of the deal the Gov't screwing us by not allowing a daily tax might be seen as a justification for screwing them back.

But you're taking that "unreasonable" view as one of the honest people who does pay...

Those who don't pay now, probably never did. And they probably never had insurance and if anything happened they dumped the car (all £50-worth) somewhere. Many of the same ratbags don't even have driving licences (especially a full one)! But as John says above, the police are so thin on the ground these days and they can't be everywhere. Still, assuming the BBC reported calculation is correct, if they sorted collection out they could get quite a few bobbies for £103M!

 

[keefysher]

I wonder how many of those untaxed cars are 'company' cars?

'Company' cars in this context are where groups of yoofs club together to buy a car, don't register it, don't insure it, don't tax it and take turns in driving it. When they get pulled they invariably make a break, or do a runner leaving a trail of destruction.

Obviously in these PC days they feel that equality is for them and they too can have a 'company' car like what hardworking folk can have without paying for it like wot other company car drivers do

We have the society we deserve

 

[davemercedes]

I wonder how many of those untaxed cars are 'company' cars?

'Company' cars in this context are where groups of yoofs club together to buy a car, don't register it, don't insure it, don't tax it and take turns in driving it. When they get pulled they invariably make a break, or do a runner leaving a trail of destruction.

Obviously in these PC days they feel that equality is for them and they too can have a 'company' car like what hardworking folk can have without paying for it like wot other company car drivers do

We have the society we deserve

Oh, I dunno about not paying for it... apart from the nice man in Downing Street ripping taxes off me for daring to have a company car and fuel but believe me, I paid for it... starting with the 70+ hours a week I did against a 40-hour salary. But it's like the discussions we've had a few times here about flying - most of one's office-bound colleagues and the yoofs you mention, all think you're living the life of Reilly without realising that you never stop working on those trips and there's no compensation for being away from SWMBO and the kids.

 

[John Laidlaw]

I also must think the dodgers don’t travel on motorways- you can hardly go half a mile without smiling for the camera these days

 

[John Laidlaw]

^ that’s my smile by the way !!

 

[keefysher]

Oh, I dunno about not paying for it... apart from the nice man in Downing Street ripping taxes off me for daring to have a company car and fuel but believe me, I paid for it... starting with the 70+ hours a week I did against a 40-hour salary. But it's like the discussions we've had a few times here about flying - most of one's office-bound colleagues and the yoofs you mention, all think you're living the life of Reilly without realising that you never stop working on those trips and there's no compensation for being away from SWMBO and the kids.

Yeh, but.. that was my point What people know vs what they perceive or think

 

[Rappey69]

If you read the comments on the bbc article the majority all seem to say what a joke, scrap the road fund license all together and add it to the fuel so everyone pays...
but when would a democratically elected government ever listen to what the majority want?

 

[Frosty149]

The ANPR system is defeated by the use of cloned number plates, it’s been common in the capital for years, no congestion charge, Dartford crossing or parking.
Never mind insurance, tax etc.

 

[davemercedes]

If you read the comments on the bbc article the majority all seem to say what a joke, scrap the road fund license all together and add it to the fuel so everyone pays...
but when would a democratically elected government ever listen to what the majority want?

Not only does that go some way to solve the non-payers issue but it also spreads the charges more fairly according to miles travelled and should also appeal to the green "polluter pays" vote. It's still not uncommon for a two-year old rep's car to be be handed in with way over 100K on the clock and the RFL charge for that vehicle is the same as one that cover a few thousand miles each year.