26/01/2007

Number of car tax dodgers increases

The number of people not paying their road tax has risen to more than two million, the latest government figures have revealed.

According to figures from the Department for Transport, the number of untaxed vehicles rose to 2.19 million last year, compared to 1.55 million in 2005.

The rise is expected to cost the government £217 million in lost revenue, compared with £147 million in 2005-06.

The statistics were based on checks conducted at 256 sites across the UK,

The information was collected before new measures, including an increase in wheel clamping operations and the use of debt collectors to target owners who ignored penalty notices, were introduced by the Department for Transport last June.

A spokesperson for the Department for Transport said: "We are working with the police and local authorities to clamp down on untaxed and uninsured vehicles.

"Since June 2006 debt collectors and clamping and removal teams have been targeting tax dodgers nationwide.

"The message is clear: not paying your road tax risks hefty fines and losing your vehicle."

(KMcA)




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