Car tax discs were abolished back in 2015 (Image: Getty)
were abolished 10 years ago with the in September 2015.
It had not been a legal requirement to display paper tax discs since October 1, 2024 with the turning its attention to a digital record.
as a cost-cutting measure and a bid to reduce the administrative burden.
Instead, technology such as Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) cameras can quickly pick up whether motorists are dodging their annual tax bills.
However, previous data shows with evasion levels soaring in the years after the move.
Tax evasion increased since paper discs were axed (Image: Getty)
Data from 2021 revealed a whopping 1.9% of cars, vans, trucks and more did not pay their fair share of rates.
This represented a staggering 720,000 vehicles with the Treasury possibly
This was another considerable rise on the 1.6% of vehicle owners who had not taxed their cars back in 2019.
However, the figures were around three times higher than the 0.6% recorded back in 2013 before the paper discs were axed.
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At this stage, the final full year before the change, analysis showed that just 210,000 UK vehicles were untaxed.
As figures started to rise, bosses admitted that reports of falling VED revenues were “worrying”.
However, the warned that it was “completely wrong” to suggest chiefs were missing out on £400million a year.
They warned that a restructuring in how individuals could pay for tax had also had an impact on numbers.
In 2014, the direct debit system allowing motorists to spread payments over 12 calendar months was first introduced.
Numbers have since fallen, with the most recent 2023 data showing that an estimated 498,000 vehicles were unlicensed.
This equates to 1.2% of all vehicles in the country but is still double that recorded before the tax disc ended.
spokesman Simon Williams previously said: “It’s therefore hard to see that doing away with the tax disc has been good for ensuring as many vehicles as possible are taxed for use on our roads.”