Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 18 April 2012
911 Deputy Pat Deering asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the reason a 1996 car with a 1.8 litre engine cost €626 road tax and a current model of the same car costs €225. [19142/12]
View answerNew emissions based Vehicle Registration Tax and motor tax systems were introduced in 2008 in order to influence the future purchasing decisions of car buyers. The owners of vehicles registered prior to 1 July 2008 continue to pay motor tax on the basis of engine capacity. Both systems of charging are based on a graduated scale, with vehicles with lower emissions or smaller engine capacity attracting lower rates of taxation than those with higher emissions or larger engine capacity.
The question of applying the new CO2 based motor tax system to all cars was subject to detailed discussion during the debate on the Motor Vehicle (Duties and Licences) Act 2008. Any retrospection would not be possible, as the CO2 data for the pre-2008 car fleet have not been authenticated for business purposes. The cost of any retrospection could be substantial were it possible, depending on how it applied, and could have direct implications for the revenue base of local government.
Continuing improvements in vehicle manufacturing technology are contributing to an increasing number of vehicles with lower carbon emissions. The average CO2 emissions of a new passenger car in the EU were 140.3 gCO2/km in 2010, 5.4 gCO2/km (3.7%) less than in 2009 when average emissions were 145.7 gCO2/km. More than 60% of all new cars sold in the EU in 2010 have emissions of 140 g/km or less, compared to only 23% in 2003. This is reflected in Irish buying trends — 81% of new vehicles purchased in 2010 fell into the two lowest CO2 bands A and B, with emissions less than 140g CO2/km. In 2011, 91% of new vehicles fell into those two bands and indications to date in 2012 are that a similar percentage will apply.
