Kristi,
Car tax, or "Road Fund Licence" as the Govt. likes to call it, is an annual
tax we have to buy to use our cars on the road (#105/yr for cars like a
Spit, under 1500cc). To prove that we have paid it, we get a pretty little
paper disc that we have to display in our windscreens. Those who choose not
to pay it still get to have a little disc, by taking one off the windscreen
of those who have open-top cars, whose windscreens are easily accessible.
The disc has the number plate and make of car written on it (badly, in
biro), but most coppers can't be arsed to look closely enough on each disc
to make sure its for the right car, so the thief gets away with it.
Alternatively, if there are any complete months left on the tax disc, it can
be handed in for a refund. This is probably more likely what happened to
Mikes stolen discs. There is supposed to be a procedure to make sure that
the discs aren't being handed in by the wrong person, but it doesn't work -
I know that because I have done it, when an Italian lodger I had gave me the
tax disc back for a refund, on the Morris Minor he bought while staying with
me and drove back to Italy!
A few years ago the government realised that it was grossly unfair that
those who had classic cars that only came out for short jaunts at the
weekend had to pay as much as those who pounded the motorways for tens of
thousands of miles, so they made cars over 25 years old exempt - the only
good thing the government has ever done for classic cars. Then we got a new
government, and they didn't like the exemption, but rather than blatently
cancel it they 'froze' the cut-off date at 1-1-73, so cars would no longer
move into exemption as they got older. To be honest, since I use my classic
more than many people use their modern cars, I can't claim too much moral
high ground on this one!!
The tax disc was introduced many many years ago so that car users
contributed to the cost of the roads they were using. Fair enough. Then
the use was subtly changed to 'investment in transport', which basically
means that they take money out of the pockets of car drivers, and put it
into the pockets of those who use otherwise financially unviable trains and
buses. Now they've given up even that pretence, as the combination of car
tax and petrol tax is about 10x total investment in transport, the rest just
goes to general govt. expenditure.
OK, rant over (for now...)
Richard & Daffy (who's tax disc is up for renewal next month!)
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