Poor road tax enforcement bothers MPs

The government risks being made a "laughing stock" over its poor enforcement of road tax, MPs have warned.

A report out today from the Commons' public accounts committee voices concern that evasion of vehicle excise duty jumped to five per cent in 2006/07 from 3.6 per cent in 2005/06.

It says more of those not licensing their vehicle or registering its keeper are seeking to avoid congestion charges or avoid being identified as a criminal.

And it is especially worried by the trend towards unlicensed motorcycles. Nearly 40 per cent do not comply with the law at present.

The Department for Transport (DfT) and the body responsible, the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA), admitted to MPs their surprise at the trend.

They acknowledged meeting their target of a reduction to 2.5 per cent by December 2007 had not been achieved.

Committee chairman Edward Leigh said: "Large parts of the biking community are cocking a snoop at the law."

Describing the government's performance on the issue as "poor", he added: "The DVLA and DfT must work more with the police and local authorities to tackle offenders actually out on the road, rather than simply by using paper records.

"The alternative is an ever-increasing belief among road users that the evasion of road tax is a low risk activity."

Motoring group the RAC Foundation expressed disappointment at the report's findings, describing it as a "wake-up call for better enforcement".

Acting director Sheila Rainger said: "The government needs to boost the number of traffic police carrying out on-road crackdowns, so that the motoring underclass and the hardcore tax-dodgers are the ones feeling the pressure, not the law-abiding motorist."

The government is looking forward to new legislation coming into force from September which will allow police, the DVLA and local authorities to take action against unlicensed vehicles not parked on public roads.

"The DVLA and Department for Transport, together with the police and local authorities, are determined to force tax evaders off the roads," a DfT spokesperson said.

"We are targeting persistent evaders and seizing 100,000 unlicensed vehicles each year."