Britain - The Official Thread

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  • 13,446 comments
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How will you vote in the 2024 UK General Election?

  • Conservative Party

    Votes: 2 6.9%

  • Green Party

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Labour Party

    Votes: 14 48.3%

  • Liberal Democrats

    Votes: 2 6.9%

  • Other (Wales/Scotland/Northern Ireland)

    Votes: 1 3.4%

  • Other Independents

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Other Parties

    Votes: 2 6.9%

  • Spoiled Ballot

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Will Not/Cannot Vote

    Votes: 8 27.6%
  • Total voters
    29
  • Poll closed .
axletramp
Get rid of road tax completely and tax the fuel. The drivers who use the roads more and/or drive less efficient vehicles have to pay the most. Seems fair to me, works well over here and encourages the use of more fuel efficient vehicles.
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Yes but to be fair, it's not like anyone on Jersey really has to drive that far :D

It's an interesting idea, but I hate the idea of penalising motorists who have to commute and can't rely on our woeful public transport system.... or motorists with older more interesting (less efficient) cars. And the road tax system as it is now, already caters for cleaner cars to pay less tax, and those that are more efficient are already paying less in tax at the pumps anyway, so really I'm not sure what the benefit would be.

Anyway, thought I'd puzzle it out about, using round figures form the first page of hits on google (just after an approximation)...

Say there are 35 Million vehicles in the UK, paying an average of £150 road tax (I've no idea really, some pay none, some pay £500), then it generates £5.25bn for the government. Say we use around 34 billion litres of fuel a year, to get that revenue from fuel instead would mean adding 15p to a litre. I've got a 2.0d BMW, with my driving profile the OBC returns an average consumption of around 34mpg. Say I do 10,000 miles/year, the increase is about £206. My memory fails me but I'm pretty sure may last tax disc was £215....
 
axletramp
Get rid of road tax completely and tax the fuel. The drivers who use the roads more and/or drive less efficient vehicles have to pay the most. Seems fair to me, works well over here and encourages the use of more fuel efficient vehicles.
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Roads are funded out of general taxation. Do you mean vehicle exisce duty, perhaps? ;)
 
ExigeEvan
More importantly to remember, you will no longer buy a car with a valid tax disc .

The previous owner will be refunded what remains on the disc when the V5 is returned.
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That is bad for car buyers because the seller in unlikely to knock any money off the price, yet get a refund potentially as high as £400 after they have flogged it to you.
 
Robin.
That is bad for car buyers because the seller in unlikely to knock any money off the price, yet get a refund potentially as high as £400 after they have flogged it to you.
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But very good for people who pay for car insurance, isn't it?

If you're not negotiating the value of the unexpired duty from the car then you're doing it wrong. The market will adapt quickly enough.
 
Gosh it get's worse, in the run up to the DVLA scrapping tax disks they are going to use non perforated paper which you will have to cut out yourself for the remaining vehicles that need taxing before October.

We pay so much tax left right and centre on now the can't afford perforated paper? I guess in the planning meeting asking us to print our own on an ink jet was probably considered a step too far. :ouch:
 
TenEightyOne
But very good for people who pay for car insurance, isn't it?
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How do you mean?

Robin.
Gosh it get's worse, in the run up to the DVLA scrapping tax disks they are going to use non perforated paper which you will have to cut out yourself for the remaining vehicles that need taxing before October.

We pay so much tax left right and centre on now the can't afford perforated paper? I guess in the planning meeting asking us to print our own on an ink jet was probably considered a step too far. :ouch:
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:lol:

Seriously though, the perforations never worked properly anyway! I don't think I've ever had a tax disc that wasn't ripped in some way :D
 
Robin.
Gosh it get's worse, in the run up to the DVLA scrapping tax disks they are going to use non perforated paper which you will have to cut out yourself for the remaining vehicles that need taxing before October.
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Why spend money stocking up on the paper for something that's not going to be required shortly? Makes more sense imo.

@MatskiMonk, currently it's possible to buy a car with tax on thereby giving no proof-mechanism that you hold insurance. This will force people to have valid insurance at the point of taxation, and about time too. You and I pay for Wayne and Waynetta's K-plate Nova on our insurance right now.
 
@Robin. - The other options were either purchase a surplus, or purchase the amount needed at a low-volume high-cost price.

The fact they chose the sensible option is a welcome surprise. I expect sales of scissors will peak this month.
 
Could they just have not given a tax disk? Because as it stands all cars are already on the electronic database so why not just let the few thousand or so needing renewal before October run without it?

Also poor management of stocks has lead to this. They knew the switch over date ages ago and could have adjusted the paper ordering properly to just run out before October. Clearly they have never heard of the Japanese management strategy (just in time).
 
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Robin.
Could they just have not given a tax disk? Because as it stands all cars are already on the electronic database so why not just let the few thousand or so needing renewal before October run without it?
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Politics. It's still the law to show a tax disc until October.

Also poor management of stocks has lead to this. They knew the switch over date ages ago and could have adjusted the paper ordering properly to just run out before October. Clearly they have never heard of the Japanese management strategy (just in time).
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Japanese management strategy? In Swansea? C'mon, we still have the Workhouse, except we call it "The Call Centre".
 
Robin.
Could they just have not given a tax disk? Because as it stands all cars are already on the electronic database so why not just let the few thousand or so needing renewal before October run without it?
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Because it's easier to send them out without perforations rather than try to send a letter that will cause some people to break the law... there would be people who'd sue the government over that to make the point.


Robin.
Also poor management of stocks has lead to this. They knew the switch over date ages ago and could have adjusted the paper ordering properly to just run out before October.
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Let's see... we're getting to the beginning of September, so of however million tax discs came out of the last batch we've run out 5 weeks short?

From our National Administrative services I find that miraculously close, I'm actually amazed we didn't run out in 1993.
 
Crossing over with the Funny News thread, but probably only culturally relevant to us Britons.

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The thing that worries me most is that the tabloids still call MCAT 'meow meow'. It got lost in translation the first time it hit the headlines, and they've never corrected it. Nobody ever calls it meow meow. Us youngsters always call it MCAT.
 
I only remember Frank because of their ads with David Mitchell voicing a dog.
 
South East Wales is currently a Police state thanks to NATO summit.

I've seen at least a dozen Police vans parked at motorway bridges and large roundabouts, half a dozen police cars, a large group of motorcycle riders cruising the M4, an armed response car and a dog unit.

But I don't work in Cardiff so I've missed the V22 Ospreys and 'Marine 1'.
 
Ah yes, the 'How do we solve the War on Terror we caused and ooh, isn't Vlad a naughty boy' meeting. Can't wait for the outcome of that.

Have you got enough toasters and grills for their lunches?
 
For once I'm glad an event has gone to South Wales rather than North Wales. All the bonus security and media parade... sickening.

"We must show a strong hand to Vladimir Putin."
"But he'll just turn the gas off."
"Oh. Meeting adjourned."

Wash, rinse, repeat.
 
So Will's gone and done it again, knocking Kate up :lol:

At the rate they are going how many kids are they gonna have!?
 

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