A reduction in VRT would protect the 40,000 people employed in the Industry, sustain business, stimulate new car sales while helping to decrease emissions from transport and protect Exchequer Revenues.
January 2021 will see a new taxation system for new cars tested under WLTP (new testing system). SIMI say any increase in VRT would have dire consequences for the sector which is already struggling in the context of both COVID and BREXIT. It would make new cars considerably more expensive to buy, reducing demand and would see thousands of job losses and business closures.
Brian Cooke, SIMI Director General (pictured) commented: “January 2021 will see a taxation change for our Industry, the biggest change to VRT and Road Tax since 2008. The 2008 change coincided with the recession causing a collapse in the new and used car market with close to 15,000 jobs lost. With the dual threat arising from COVID and BREXIT, we simply cannot have the same destabilisation of the car market again.”
He added that ‘a more burdensome VRT regime will undermine both the new and used car markets making new cars more expensive, impacting on used car values and slowing our fleet renewal’. This, he said, will inevitably lead to a fall in employment and undermine viable family businesses.
“What we need to see in the Budget is a taxation reduction that will support the new car market and which will be environmentally positive. This will protect jobs, businesses, renew our fleet and reduce emissions.”
