MP’s back down on tax claims

Added on Tuesday, June 24th, 2008 by Carole Nash Editor | No Comments

MP’s have apologised to bikers in Britain after admitting that their figures on motorcycle road tax evasion were inaccurate.

The House of Commons Public Accounts Committee initially claimed that almost 40% of motorcyclists were dodging VED (vehicle excise duty) rates on the basis of a report backed by the Department for Transport (DfT) and called for tough action to seize and even crush the bikes of offenders.

But the committee were forced to back down from their claims and admit that the figure was closer to 10%, prompting committee chairman Edward Leigh to issue an apology to motorcyclists across the UK.

Leigh, who is also the Tory MP for Gainsborough, said: “I apologise to law-abiding motorcyclists offended by our original report, and I look to the department to make a similar apology.

“We expect departments to be accurate, and when they are not sure their figures are reliable, they should say so.”

The apology was welcomed by the Motor Cycle Industry Association (MCIA), who claimed that the U-turn by the PAC vindicated their insistence that the figures in the report were flawed and inaccurate.

The report, which claimed that 38% of registered motorcycles did not display a valid tax disc was slammed by the MCIA when it was released last year as being based on “deeply flawed methodology.”

“The original claim that nearly 40 per cent of motorcyclists were evading VED hit the headlines with very wide media coverage, even though common sense suggested that the DfT had got it wrong,” said Craig Carey-Clinch of the MCIA.

“We are delighted that Edward Leigh and the PAC have now set the record straight and we thank them for their continued scrutiny of the issue and the work they have done.”

One of the claims of the MCIA was that the report failed to acknowledge was the number of motorcycles which are legitimately declared off-the-road via a statutory off-road notice (SORN) during the winter months, making them exempt from VED for that period.

But whilst the new figure was welcomed, the PAC’s estimate was still considered to be “wide of the mark” by the MCIA, who called for greater enforcement of tax evasion and driving standards.

“We deplore VED evasion, especially as it will often mean no insurance or MOT,” added Carey-Clinch.

“Riders who break the law threaten the image of motorcycling so we want to see better police enforcement on the road, not only to combat VED evasion, but also to tackle poor and dangerous driving and riding, along with the menace of defective vehicles.”

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