Dáil Éireann debate -
Thursday, 3 Feb 2000

Vol. 513 No. 5

Written Answers. - Taxi Regulations.

Jan O'Sullivan

Question:

44 Ms O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Finance if he will apply a separate vehicle registration tax classification for taxis imported for the purposes of providing access for wheelchairs in order that these vehicles can be taxed at a lower rate of zero rating; if his attention has been drawn to the cost of providing wheelchair accessible taxis; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2938/00]

Minister for Finance (Mr. McCreevy)

Taxis and hackney cars are taxed as private vehicles for VRT purposes. There are no dedicated taxis or hackneys just servicing the needs of the disabled. Regulations governing the standards applicable to wheelchair accessible taxis have been made by my colleague, the Minister for the Environment and Local Government.

The issue of VRT on wheelchair accessible taxis was considered in the context of the 1999 Finance Bill and again in the context of the recent budget but I decided to take no action. There is no evidence of lack of interest in taxi licences in Dublin, for example, where wheelchair accessibility has been a requirement for new licence holders and applications greatly exceed the number available. In addition, there is a substantive problem in that any VRT concession for taxis and hackneys would itself be costly and could lead to further revenue losses with private cars, as vehicles could be passed through the taxi-hackney fleet to avail of any tax concession. VRT is paid on initial registration and does not require the retention of a vehicle for any time period. Accordingly, I have no plans to abolish or to reduce the VRT on wheelchair accessible taxis.

Minister for Finance (Mr. McCreevy)

Rollover relief under the capital gains tax code provides for a deferral of tax if the proceeds from the disposal of certain trading assets are reinvested in new trading assets within three years of the disposal. The tax position on the gain from the old asset is looked at when the new asset acquired is disposed of and there is not a subsequent reinvestment. The purpose of the rollover relief is primarily to ensure that business people are not faced with a capital gains tax charge when they dispose of trade assets in order to reinvest in new trade assets.

In general, the reinvestment must be in specified assets which must be in use for the purposes of the same trade as were the assets which were disposed of. This rule does not apply on cessation of a trade where a person has carried on the old trade for ten years prior to its cessation and he/she commences a new trade within two years of the date of the cessation of the old trade. For the relief to apply both the assets disposed of and the assets acquired must fall within one of the following categories: land and buildings used for the purposes of the trade, plant and machinery used for trade purposes, goodwill of a trade. A taxi plate would not fall within any of the categories of qualifying assets for the purposes of rollover relief. I have no proposals to alter the current tax position.