What do YOU think about the new road tax?

Road tax. While there are many alternative ideas (like scrapping it, but adding to the cost of fuel), it’s always going to be a hot potato for vehicle owners (yes, I know – it’s actually Vehicle Excise Duty, but I still call it road tax).

If you’re like me, and prefer to spend your time riding your bike, or tinkering in the garage, it’s possible that you missed the ‘outrage’ online over the government’s upcoming changes to road tax. Basically, from October this year, we will no longer have paper tax discs. Instead, we’ll be able to pay online, by phone, or by Direct Debit. We won’t have to worry about having our tax discs stolen, as number-plate recognition cameras constantly check that the bikes and cars on our roads are paid-up, and insured.

Sounds good so far, but what’s got the web-regulars so hot under the collar is that we’ll no longer be able to sell a vehicle with tax. The seller must cancel theirs, getting a refund on any complete months remaining, while the buyer will need to immediately purchase new tax.

“The government’s lining their pockets again. We need to complain to our MPs” was the general theme to many posts on forums, but do we really? Get a refund on your current paper tax disc, and you’ll still only receive money for the complete months remaining. If your bike’s over 600cc, then you could potentially lose up to £6.50. Of course, it’s more expensive for a lot of cars, but for most of us – buying and selling once every couple of years – it’s not a great disaster.

I guess I’m a ‘glass half full’ kind of bloke, but I hate wasting my time moaning about things, so I’m off out to enjoy a quick ride…

What do YOU think? Please post your comments below…