AA to fill void left by tax disc

From 1st October a paper tax disc no longer needs to be displayed in the windscreen of vehicles. Drivers will still be required to purchase vehicle excise duty (ved) but will no longer receive a small perforated tax disc in exchange for their money.

Edmund King, AA president, said: “Scrapping the tax disc really is a poignant moment in motoring history and the end of an era. That circular disc in the corner of the windscreen has been an intrinsic part of the look of motoring over the last 93 years. In many ways the car windscreen will look naked without a disc.

“Most drivers probably resented paying the tax, particularly since the link with road improvements was broken, however at least they got something physical in return for their payment. There was always that dicey moment when it seemed the perforations wouldn’t work and the disc would rip in half.”

In response the AA will issue windscreen badges to members to fill that void. In line with the times, they’ll also tell members how to report breakdowns digitally via the AA App, as well as, how to call for assistance.

Some misgivings

Some AA members have complained that in certain cases the Government will get ‘double money’ from drivers as someone selling a car during the month will not be able to get a refund for the rest of that month but the buyer must tax the vehicle and pay for the entire month if they want to drive it. The AA had campaigned for drivers to be able to tax their cars from a certain day – as is the case with insurance – rather than having to pay for the entire month.

King added: “This is a downside to the changes as it means someone driving a car that costs £500 pa to tax would lose £41 if they sold it at the beginning of the month. Likewise a buyer purchasing a car mid month would have to pay ved for the entire month.

“There are also potential issues for our patrols towing a vehicle which they will not know immediately if it is taxed. Likewise if a vehicle appears to have been dumped on the roadside the lack of a valid tax disc is often an indication that this is the case.

“We will be supplying AA members with a windscreen badge to replace the tax disc and to give them useful breakdown information. “

Though not as convenient as checking the tax disc in the windscreen anyone can still check the tax status of any vehicle by using the DVLA’s vehicle enquiry service https://www.vehicleenquiry.service.gov.uk/.

On the positive side getting rid of the tax disc will remove the bureaucracy of the million duplicate tax discs that have been issued in the last three years, which equates to more than 3 per cent of all vehicles.