End of the road for the tax disc

After 93 years the tax disc is to be scrapped and replaced with an electronic system, Chancellor George Osborne has announced in the Autumn Statement.

First introduced in 1921, the tax disc displayed proof that the motorist had paid the vehicle excise duty. Vehicle taxation was actually introduced in the 1888 budget, although vehicle excise duty applying specifically to motor vehicles came into being with the Roads Act of 1920 with the tax disc arriving a year later.

The new electronic system will enable people to pay VED by monthly direct debit, which will be much more convenient and will help cash strapped motorists to budget by spreading the cost, it will also mean Treasury savings of £7m in administration costs. The police and DVLA mostly rely on the electronic register so the present tax disc system is no longer necessary, a Treasury spokesperson said it would make “dealing with government more hassle free” and that it showed the government was moving “into the modern age”. It will still be possible to tax a vehicle at a post office or by telephone.

The changes are due to come into force in October 2014.

Special Thanks comedy_nose for providing the image