by Trish Whelan. The Society of the Irish Motor Industry (SIMI) has welcomed a decision of the EU Commission to bring in a Directive forcing Member States to phase out Vehicle Registration Tax (VRT) over a ten year period.
Cyril McHugh, Chief Executive SIMI said SIMI has been lobbying the Irish Government and the EU Commission to reduce VRT for over a decade based on its inequity within the Single Market.
"We are very pleased to see that the EU Commission is now putting pressure on Member States to do so," he said. "We strongly recommend that the Government take the Commission’s proposal into consideration in the December Budget and start to reduce car prices for Irish motorists."
So far this year motorists have paid €876m in VRT which makes up 5% of total tax revenue for the Exchequer for the first six months of the year.
"The total tax take from all motoring taxation for the half year constitutes about €3bn or 17% of all government revenue. This is an unfair burden on one sector.”
