'5% of drivers not paying road tax'
Date: 22/01/2008 11:40:56
Vehicle excise duty enforcement needs to be stronger to reduce the rising number of tax dodgers, it has been claimed.
In response to findings that the number of drivers avoiding paying excise duty rose to five per cent in 2006, the RAC Foundation has called for an increased number of traffic police.
Sheila Rainger, acting director of the RAC Foundation, stated that these law-breaking motorists were also more likely to be dodging their car insurance and MOT payments.
"Responsible motorists are not only picking up the tab for evaders, they are also being put at risk by them," she added.
The Commons public accounts committee, which discovered the figure, has said that efforts by the Driver Vehicle Licensing Agency to deal with the situation have been "poor".
Chairman Edward Leigh commented that drivers and bikers who evade road tax are effectively stealing from those who keep to the law.
The findings also highlighted that 38 per cent of motorcyclists failed to pay their excise duty in 2006 compared with 30 per cent the previous year.