Paper tax discs were scrapped on 1st October 2014 – but half of all UK drivers didn’t have a clue about the plans! The old fashioned circles of paper, displayed in windscreens since 1921, vanished from processes as part of a new Vehicle Excise Duty scheme.
The changes were in fact announced by Chancellor George Osborne late last year – but a survey by money.co.uk claimed that 50 per cent of drivers didn’t know that it was going to happen – with almost a third going on to say that they will not try to find out what the new rules are – and six per cent under the impression that the changes are not set to come into effect until 2015!
Clearly, more education (or at least another announcement) is required, especially seeing that drivers run the risk of receiving fines of up to £1,000 if they don’t get up to speed with the new rules – but the eventual outcome of the change is set to be very positive.
According to insiders, motorists will be £20million a year better off thanks to the move, with businesses saving £7million in admin costs. It is estimated that the six-month road tax charge will drop from 10% to 5%, as some of the savings achieved from going paperless will be passed on to motorists. Clearly this will be a very welcome scenario – and another example of how paper-free systems can save a lot of money!
Discover how you can create a paperless office – and save money by doing so – in our {osdownloads download_button 2 “handy guide – ‘Creating a paperless office’ (pdf)”}!