Drivers dodge £119m in tax after paper discs are axed

THE proportion of drivers evading road tax has tripled since the paper disc was abolished – blowing a £119million hole in Treasury coffers.

Nearly 2 per cent of vehicles tracked on UK roads this year failed to pay the levy, also known as vehicle excise duty. This is the equivalent to 719,000 cars, vans and lorries.

Before the system was digitised in 2014, the figure was only 0.6 per cent. The £119million loss, estimated by the Department for Transport, dwarfs the £14million that the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) said would be saved each year by going digital.

Some of it may be recovered through penalties imposed on offenders.

Julie Lennard, head of the DVLA, said: ‘We work hard to drive down vehicle tax evasion... Those who choose to evade will be tackled using our proven package of comprehensive enforcement measures.’