Closed petition Remove the surcharge for renewing a vehicle tax disc for only 6 months instead of 12

Closed on 28 February 2013

Mark Hoban (Treasury minister), was quoted in Dec. 2011 as saying that the government is prepared to legislate to prevent airlines and other businesses from imposing hefty charges on credit and debit card bookings, and it was stated that The Treasury decided to go a step further and ban "excessive surcharges" on credit and debit cards by most "retail sectors".

While this is laudable, the Government itself imposes a surcharge for renewing a vehicle tax disc for only 6 months instead of a full year - for example, a tax disc that costs £165 for a 12 month period costs £90.75 for a 6 month renewal - a total of £181.50 for 2 half-year periods. This amounts to a £16.50 (10%) surcharge for someone who chooses, or can only afford, to pay their annual vehicle tax in two parts.

If the Government is true to its word, it would also eliminate THIS excessive surcharge by making the 6 month charge for a vehicle tax disk equal to half the cost of a 12 month renewal.