Tax Discs

So the tax discs on new cars is to change, I thought closing the DVLA offices, followed by the redundancies and general scale down and cram of the system that has been in place for years, and remember we are heading for different not better, we are now taking a step backwards.

Do you remember the days of 'tax applied for' plastered on the windscreen? This was then felt to be tax evasion, so steps were taking to move into continuous taxation of vehicles, a slow expensive process, but eventually we had mastered the art, and SORN was born to fill the gaps, well don't look now but tax applied for is back.

Dealerships are no longer able to pre-tax our cars when we purchase a new one, so for fourteen days we can drive a new car untaxed, section 33 of the vehicle excise and registration act has been altered to allow this.

Did we want change, because the 6700 staff who saw this coming will wonder what the change in law was all about, of course there would have been a fleeting mention about this, but lets not make too much fuss in case the public hear about it. Although employment has risen in the UK, and don't forget there has been an addition of those in voluntary work to the numbers, Government staff are falling by the wayside in droves.

The excuses for avoiding displaying a tax disc currently, are,

1. I took too much Viagra so could not leave the house
2. If the cost of the tax disc is more than the value of the car, you don't have to pay it
3. I broke both arms so cannot fill out the paperwork

Other responses include

I have been out of the country and when I came back I forgot where I had parked my car
My dog ate the reminder

So continuous taxation isn't so effective after all, therefore we have to assume continuous insurance isn't either. As it will no longer be necessary to supply insurance details for taxation purposes, how long before there are less taxed or insured vehicles on the road. The removal of this will save £1.1m but is it a false economy.

Legislation is in place to deliver continuous SORN, instead of the current yearly renewal, this will tie in with the changes to the finance bill. From April 2014, lorries over 12 tonne will be required to pay a road user charge along with their vehicle tax.

A shocking 39,284 days were lost in the DVLA last year from sick leave, a big bill for the tax payer.  All of the changes to legislation and operating procedures will never save enough to cover that expense.