Disc Breaks

or should I call it "Tax Brakes"?

No, this story is about tax discs not disc brakes.

I'm not sure why George Osborne announced that he was scrapping the Tax Disc this afternoon.

Because everyone knew that it was happening this morning - along with the rest of his Autumn Statement.  The BBC had it here.  Autocar had it here.

They used this picture.  That registration number belongs to a Range-Rover.  I wonder if it was just parked outside their offices or it belongs to a member of staff there - it isn't the one that comes up if you look for a review of a Range-Rover on their site.

The BBC have also used this as an excuse to bring back their occasional (and amusing) RIP item with "R.I.P. Car Tax Disc".  These sometimes prompt amusing tributes from the readership - I await these in mild anticipation.

What the scrapping of the discs doesn't mean, though, is the scrapping of the tax.  That will continue to be collected and the Police will have access to the databases which tell them who has actually paid - although your average traffic warden or nosey neighbour won't be able to easily tell.

The tax itself is "vehicle excise duty" not "road tax".  I make this point because this comes up every time anyone mentions tax discs - it comes up a lot in the comments at the end of the main BBC article.  Cyclists generally make this point a lot.

I am an occasional cyclist myself but very much take the Jeremy Clarkson point-of-view on this:

Nothing is Inevitable - Apart from Death and Taxes

I've just corrupted a Benjamin Franklin quote there becasue of a news story on the BBC site today stating "Future road pricing 'inevitable' - RAC Foundation"

The article, quite rightly in my opinion, claims that most people are against road pricing until they learn that other taxes may be reduced or scrapped to make way for it. Fair enough, but I for one do not believe that the average British motorist, who has always had a poor deal with respect to taxes and what they are used for, would ever be better off if a new tax was introduced.

OK, scrapping the current road tax discs sounds like a nice idea - especially for those of us driving cars with larger engines - but it wouldn't help disabled people who get free Road Tax or classic (pre-1973) car drivers who also get it free for their Ford Anglias and Vauxhall Crestas (frothy man!)

It would stop those tax disc cheats who put a beer mat in the windscreen and are consequently not insured - or would it? Presumably there would have to be some new "Big Brother" style technology to keep track of where you are driving so this could be overcome by, depending on the technology used, disabling transmitters on the car or using false or stolen plates so that somebody else gets the bill as happens with the London Congestion Charge. And who's going to pay for this technology? Or do they expect a load of toll booths to be installed all over the country? Sounds very 18th Century rather than 21st.

Then back to the Big Brother argument (God, that programme is awful nowadays), another BBC news story today would be very relevant with the authorities keeping track of where you are. I mean, what happens if you borrow you wife's car to visit your mistress in Leamington Spa and then she gets the bill for it next week?

Another problem is that once the concept is accepted, the price will inevitably spiral. I remember using the M6 Toll when it first opened and it cost £2 - very reasonable and you could drive quickly with only the compulsory Vauxhall Zafira tailgating you to cause any annoyance. Today it is £5 so I steer clear. Similarly the London Congestion Zone charge started at £5 but current proposals are to make it £10 if you pay on the day - you get a whole quid off if you pay in advance!

The crumb of comfort comes near the end of the article: A Department for Transport spokesman said: "We have no plans to introduce a charging programme for existing roads, which are publicly owned and have already been paid for by the taxpayer."

"No plans" is a Government get-out clause but hopefully, since they do accept that existing roads have already been paid for by us, we shouldn't see anything too taxing for the lifetime of this Government at least.