The latest cost of a license is £139.50 for color and £47.00 for B&W. This is handled by the Television Licensing Agency (TVLA).
http://www.tv-l.co.uk/
They do take this very seriously, and will prosecute violators. Companies that rent or sell televisions are required to report the customers name to the TVLA within 28 days or face a £1000 fine. Individuals that are caught are typically fined £150 with a maximum of £1000. According to the TVLA, on any particular day, they typically catch about 1200 people!
Because the license fee is a direct cost, I think people in the UK would have been very upset if DTV did not work for them. Unfortunately because it's a buried tax here, people are less likely to get upset. One big hole in the UK scheme is it is assumed that every household needs to pay this tax, so if you truly don't own a television, you can get constantly hassled by the TVLA. Here is an interesting link documenting one persons struggle:
http://www.marmalade.net/lime/
I'm not familiar with an MOV tax, so I'll ask a couple of friends in the UK.
Darryl