Currently reading: Paper tax discs scrapped and fuel duty frozen in Autumn statement

Traditional paper tax discs to be replaced by electronic system; plus fuel duty is frozen for another year

Car tax discs will be axed from next year.

Chancellor George Osborne made the announcement in his Autumn Statement today, revealing that the traditional paper car tax discs will be retired from October 2014, and replaced with an electronic system.

The new system will allow motorists to pay their car tax by monthly direct debit.

Having been in service since 1921, paper tax discs are increasingly becoming outdated, with both the police and the DVLA relying on electronic means instead. Reports suggest the move could save businesses up to £7 million in administrative costs.

The Treasury said the plan showed the government was moving "into the modern age".

The Chancellor also announced that fuel duty tax will be frozen for another year. He said the cancelling of fuel duty rises had been a "major priority" for the government. Fuel duty was originally set to rise by up to 2p per litre in January.

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405line 26 February 2014

Whatever

Whatever it is its going to benefit the government as they now can sack or lay off some of the people that were involved in making tax discs, so long as PC plod knows the score i don't really care.
n50pap 7 December 2013

Road Tax changes

Presumably this will help when you buy a new car. Dealers no longer issue tax discs to new cars so you have a period of grace before it arrives from DVLA when you can attach a "road tax applied for" hand written notice yourself to assuage any traffic warden. When I visit Hungary the system they use seems to be a permanent sticker with the car registration and a bar code, which presumably is road tax. It does look more professional and probably won't fade like a paper disc. As for direct debit payments, presumably that's like the TV licence where they take it once a year and the licence lasts for a longer period.
RPrior 5 December 2013

re; Road Tax

40 yrs behind Australia What do our Civil Servants do - Not even all day but Once a Year to justify their existence.