RIP Paper Tax Disc
 

:rip[2]: paper tax disc.

From October 1st 2014 no more paper tax discs will be issued thanks to Mr Osborne.

www.gov.uk

Personally, I'm glad. You will be able to pay by continuous direct debit and it has always been a conundrum as to where to put disc disc holders on the bikes I've owned over the years. They've got wet, fallen off, been stolen...

What am I gonna do with my expensive, fully waterproof Oberon tax disc holder?????? :crybaby2:

I've even got an unused one for my GS in the garage!!! :013:


EBAY!!!!!!:glasses9:

Having not put a tax disc on a bike in the last 25 years and might be more than that!! but carried it in my wallet it'll make no difference to me :mblah05:

Breaking the law for 25 years - you naughty boy! :spanking[1]:

Now that would a new thread how many convictions have you had!!!

Hahaha well I too have never fitted mine either.....oooops

Brilliant news, but I think it will lead to more untaxed vehicles as people stick it on direct debit and forget about it and something at the DVLA, the bank, or the available funds in the account screws it up.

For the first half of ths year one of my bikes was uninsured because the insurance broker failed to place the policy with the underwriter, but they sent me all the paperwork and were taking the direct debit for the other policy, so I never noticed that I wasn't paying for the second one. The insurance company said they would have honoured a claim as it wasn't my fault, but if stopped by the police I would have been riding uninsured and in he eyes of the law hat would be the end of it, my responsibility.

At least with the bit of paper, if you have it, you've paid for it, no argument.

PS: if its going to reduce administration costs will the cost to the motorist go down?

We'll my take on it nothing will change apart from printing the paper disc,you'll get the same renewal in the post and pay the same way.

Wishful thinking! ;) There's ZERO chance of that happening!

Personally, I think the biggest headache that will come with the withdrawal of the paper disc is that it's going to be more of a chore checking that a secondhand bike (or car) is taxed or not. At the moment it's easy to verify a vehicle advertised as being "taxed"; you just look at the disc. No disc = no tax.

From October 2014 you'll have to search the "Vehicle Enquiry" database on the www.taxdisc.gov.uk website inputting the registration and make to check it's taxed.

Even proving the vehicle has an MOT is a bit of a grey area these days, as no one is issued with a certificate anymore, all you get is an A4 printed receipt "telling you that the pass result has been entered in the VOSA database". You actually need to verfiy the test is genuine at www.direct.gov.uk/check-mot-status to be sure it is valid (as the A4 print out is very easy to forge).

All extra faff when buying secondhand.

But you won't pay the same way, it's moving to direct debit.

How's it going to go to direct debit?,I run 4 bikes 3 cars and a van their insured all the time but I tax e'm when I need e'm otherwise their in the garage on a sorn.

I see the word your getting hung up on 'Allow' doesn't mean you have too.

You'll still be able to buy tax and pay for it in one lump sum at the post office with cash/cheque, or online with a card. Direct Debit is just going to be an additional way to pay, and they'll charge you an extra 5% for the privilege!

Ok understood. I didnt know that, the website only mentions direct debit, so I assumed direct debit was the only option moving forwards. How did you find out that we'd still be able to pay at the post office?

"From 1 October 2014 motorists will be able to pay vehicle tax by direct debit annually, biannually or monthly"

And the extra 5% surcharge is only if you don't choose annual direct debit.

Which is rediculous when collecting a tax, because the people who are least able to afford it are the ones who will wan to spread the payments, so lets charge those that are least able to afford it an extra 5%

Having released a bit more information about the new vehicle licensing scheme since my OP, it would appear that the biggest change that will affect all of us (at some point) is the fact that the new VED (tax) will not transfer with a vehicle.

According to DVLA:

"From 1 October, when you buy a vehicle, the vehicle tax will no longer be transferred with the vehicle. You will need to get new vehicle tax before you can use the vehicle."

Which kind of implies that the owner is being taxed, not the vehicle?

Just another simple way of taxing our wallets and its disgusting


Xt660x 04

Non-transferable I'm afraid, it's you, not the vehicle it stays with.

It does make it interesting when you buy a second hand vehicle, buy it in the middle of the month and you'll have to pay the backdated RFL, but the current owner will have already paid it, and will loose that month. So for every sale, there will be two months RFL, unless it's sorn'd and picked up a month later.

They would have been better off dispensing with it all together and putting the cost onto fuel as a 1% tax, then everyone would pay a fair amount, big milers would pay more than low milers, gas guzzlers more than economic vehicles, economic drivers more than the heavy foot brigade, and no one could avoid it, so no more un-taxed vehicles and therefore no need for the cost of enforcement. Sure, you'd then pay 'road tax' for your chainsaw and lawn mower, but the amounts would be minimal in the scheme of things, and a few considerate miles would soon give you pay-back.

In Guernsey we don't have road tax. We have the extra duty on fuel. So great, no tax disc you may think. No, we have an insurance disc instead. However if stopped by the police and asked to produce your paperwork, your displayed disc does not count. They need to see the paper counterpart. So you have to ask ,whats the point?

That's what I was alluding to in post #17 ;)

The original draft white paper from last autumn was a bit sketchy on the specifics!

One of the main reasons for introducing the current form of the circular paper disc was to give a visible indication that a vehicle has an MOT and there is valid insurance in place. Now pointless on the mainland too, as its all stored/checked electronically - hence, I guess, the new system.

Agree. You could also shut down a whole department in Swansea and save a sack-load of cash to boot.

I have yet to meet a single sane person who doesn't think that adding the duty to fuel is a good idea... Except successive transport/roads ministers - but then again, I haven't actually met one, and they're probably not sane either?

:byesmiley: Binned my tax disc holder today - bike is now 100g lighter!

Signed up for annual direct debit so it'll renew automatically each year and I can forget about it - one less thing to remember is always good at my age.