DVLA loses £170m through untaxed vehicles
A staggering 1 million plus motorists in the UK are driving vehicles that are not taxed.
On the anniversary of the abolition of the tax disc, the DVLA has alluded to the fact that taxing your car is now much easier than before, however, the figures would contradict this statement. It seems due to the lack of a physical tax disc, many motorists are actually forgetting to re-tax their vehicles.
A spokesperson from the DVLA said, ‘The vast majority of people tax their cars on time, with over 42 and a half million drivers taxing their vehicles since 1 October 2014. Of these more than 29 million have chosen to tax their vehicles online or by phone. We also still send reminders to motorists when their vehicles are due to be taxed. We send V11 reminders to all motorists except those who have chosen to pay by Direct Debit – they would receive a Direct Debit reminder.’
However, in the light of this, Motoring.co.uk, has undertaken a survey of 30,000 motorists and the results show dramatic figures.
From the figures gathered, on average 4 per cent of all motorists in the UK are driving around in cars, which are untaxed. Across the UK, this equates to over 1 million cars.
Motoring.co.uk found, that on average, car tax costs £170 per vehicle – with this in mind that mean the DVLA is losing out on around £170 million per annum through untaxed vehicles as motorists simply forget, due to it not being on their ‘to do’ list.
Motorists driving without valid tax could be fined up to £1,000 and face having their vehicle impounded.
However, those worried about keeping track of their tax due date, can register with Motoring.co.uk – the motoring website aims to arm the consumer with the tools to make the car-owning experience an enjoyable one.
Terry Hogan, co-founder and director said, ‘With the lack of a physical tax disc, it seems large numbers of motorists are failing to renew their car tax -driving illegally and liable to fines.’
‘We’ve been helping millions of motorists for the past eight years and understand that the every-day motorist struggles to keep on top of their ownership lifecycle. Our innovative MyMotoring hub allows users to easily log a few car details and sends out timely reminders when their road tax is due.’
