Since the paper tax disc was abolished the number of unlicensed vehicles on the road has tripled.
The
data, published every two years, shows that the government potentially
lost out on £107m from 755,000 unlicensed vehicles last year.
The RAC said the decision to get rid of the paper tax disc three years
ago has proved "costly" when it should have saved the Treasury £10m a
year.
"It appears that having a visual reminder was an effective
way to prompt drivers into renewing their car tax - arguably more
drivers are now prepared to try their luck and see if they can get away
with not paying any vehicle tax at all, or are simply forgetting to tax
their vehicle when they are due to."
When the abolition of the paper tax disc was announced by
then-Chancellor, George Osborne, the Treasury said it showed government
was moving "into the modern age".
The
RAC said a third of untaxed vehicles had changed hands since September
2016, indicating that many drivers were not aware that tax does not
carry over when ownership changes.
The seller receives a refund of any full months of remaining tax while the new owner must tax the vehicle immediately.
