Motor Tax Yield

Tuesday, 4 December 2012

Ceisteanna (58)

Barry Cowen

Ceist:

58. Deputy Barry Cowen asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the number of motorists paying road tax broken down by band; the total amount paid per band to each local authority in 2011 and to date in 2012; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [54348/12]

Amharc ar fhreagra

Freagraí ó Béal (15 píosaí cainte)

Deputy Fergus O'Dowd

I propose to circulate in the Official Report a tabular statement setting out details of the number of motorists paying road tax by band for 2011 and to the end of October 2012 and setting out motor tax receipts by band in respect of 2011. Arrears are broken down by motor tax class. As indicated in the replies to Questions No. 476 on 27 November 2012 and No. 362 on 2 October 2012, a breakdown of motor tax receipts by band in respect of 2012 is being prepared. I will forward this information to the Deputy when it becomes available.

Data on income, vehicle numbers and trends in payment of motor tax, such as the uptake of online payments and the proportion of discs taken out annually, half-yearly or quarterly, are compiled by the National Vehicle and Driver File, NVDF, to monitor income to the local government fund and facilitate projections on future income. Information on total income by county is made available as a matter of course. This information was set out for you in a previous reply.

A breakdown of the total amount paid per band to each local authority, as well as via the online motor tax system, is not compiled on an ongoing basis. There are over 70 separate categories of motor tax for private vehicles, commercial vehicles and various other classes of vehicle. Providing a breakdown for all these categories across 29 licensing authorities and the online system will take some time. As soon as it is available, it will be forwarded to the Deputy.

Vehicle numbers by band at 31 October 2012

Private vehicles based on engine capacity

Engine size	No. of vehicles at 31 October 2012
not over 1,000	121,325
1,001 to 1,100	5,972
1,101 to 1,200	83,676
1,201 to 1,300	101,016
1,301 to 1,400	389,771
1,401 to 1,500	52,917
1,501 to 1,600	232,654
1,601 to 1,700	5,714
1,701 to 1,800	90,749
1,801 to 1,900	119,525
1,901 to 2,000	161,651
2,001 to 2,100	403
2,101 to 2,200	20,034
2,201 to 2,300	6,474
2,301 to 2,400	3,349
2,401 to 2,500	17,646
2,501 to 2,600	1,442
2,601 to 2,700	3,369
2,701 to 2,800	4,165
2,801 to 2,900	292
2,901 to 3,000	16,401
3,001 or more	9,778
Total	1,448,323

Private vehicles based on CO2 emissions

Band	CO2 emissions g/km	No. of vehicles at 31 October 2012
A	O – 120g	126,788
B	More than 120g/km up to and including 140g/km	191,231
C	More than 140g/km up to and including 155g/km	67,068
D	More than 155g/km up to and including 170g/km	27,487
E	More than 170g/km up to and including 190g/km	10,991
F	More than 190g/km up to and including 225g/km	4,492
G	More than 225g/km	694
-	Total	428,751

Goods vehicles

Unladen weight (kg)	No. of vehicles at 31 October 2012
Not over 3,000	280,699
3,001 to 4,000	4,006
4,001 to 5,000	3,500
5,001 to 6,000	2,298
6,001 to 7,000	1,417
7,001 to 8,000	1,723
8,001 to 9,000	1,997
9,001 to 10,000	1,651
10,001 to 11,000	1,962
11,001 to 12,000	2,904
12,001 to 13,000	2,694
13,001 to 14,000	2,491
14,001 to 15,000	1,724
15,001 to 16,000	898
16,001 to 17,000	487
17,001 to 18,000	257
18,001 to 19,000	115
19,001 to 20,000	43
20,000 or more	152
Total	311,018

Miscellaneous vehicles

-	No. of vehicles at 31 October 2012
Off Road Dumper	22
Dumper/Forklift Truck	1,927
Excavator/Digger	4,106
Mobile Machine	5,312
Agricultural Tractor	63,077
General Haulage Tractor	861
Taxi/Hackney	24,137
Schoolbus	844
Large PSV/Youth & Community Bus	8,382
Motorcycles	35,084
Vintage & Veteran	28,172
Motor Caravan	9,584
Island Vehicles	929
Hearse	859
Total	183,296

Motor tax receipts by band for 2011

Private vehicles based on engine capacity

Engine cc	No. of vehicles		Licensing Period		Total
-	31 December 2011	Annual	Half-yearly	Quarterly	€m
not over 1,000	128,675	14,728,981	5,010,647	8,356,727	28,096,355
1,101-1,200	6,331	12,073,952	5,084,252	9,985,484	27,143,688
1,001-1,100	88,565	840,015	344,330	584,969	1,769,314
1,201-1,300	109,338	15,487,519	6,730,113	14,340,523	36,558,155
1,301-1,400	413,158	64,174,826	28,291,106	55,073,440	147,539,372
1,401-1,500	54,953	9,365,211	3,653,220	7,816,039	20,834,470
1,501-1,600	246,576	47,717,556	23,021,907	46,689,880	117,429,343
1,601-1,700	6,150	1,160,145	588,823	1,311,689	3,060,657
1,701-1,800	97,959	25,368,206	9,489,423	22,682,753	57,540,382
1,801-1,900	127,402	31,443,442	13,873,287	32,871,420	78,188,149
1,901-2,000	174,130	46,296,498	22,712,652	44,502,675	113,511,825
2,001-2,100	440	172,905	64,444	130,883	368,232
2,101-2,200	21,650	8,409,501	3,787,425	6,553,666	18,750,592
2,201-2,300	6,952	2,779,446	1,256,157	2,177,440	6,213,043
23,012,400	3,732	1,801,374	609,307	1,112,351	3,523,032
2,401-2,500	19,939	8,832,994	3,676,282	6,955,122	19,464,398
2,501-2,600	1,596	896,460	414,548	600,494	1,911,502
2,601-2,700	3,947	1,917,024	1,084,292	1,808,919	4,810,235
2,701-2,800	4,428	3,000,350	1,188,228	1,407,603	5,596,181
2,801-2,900	451	172,788	110,824	323,385	606,997
2,901-3,000	18,007	12,793,482	4,495,284	6,715,002	24,003,768
3,001 or more	10,924	10,036,518	3,398,511	4,546,754	17,981,783
TOTAL	1,545,303	319,469,193	138,885,062	276,547,218	734,901,473

Private vehicles based on CO 2 emissions

CO 2 Emissions-Grams per km	No. of vehicles		Licensing Period		Total
-	31 December 2011	Annual	Half-yearly	Quarterly
-		€	€	€
A ( 0 - 120)	85,703	14,674,685	798,697	500,711	15,974,093
B (121-140)	157,480	19,694,527	1,368,641	1,279,570	22,342,738
C (141-155)	59,924	12,688,950	2,353,940	2,270,811	17,313,701
D (156-170)	24,842	7,564,514	1,551,688	1,491,216	10,607,418
E (171-190)	9,938	4,288,707	914,844	780,429	5,983,980
F (191-225)	3,968	2,893,280	654,434	437,498	3,985,212
G (226 & over)	652	914,210	162,655	110,436	1,187,301
TOTAL	342,507	62,718,873	7,804,899	6,870,671	77,394,443

Goods Vehicles

Unladen weight (kg)	No. of vehicles		Licensing Period		Total
-	31 December 2011	Annual	Half-yearly	Quarterly
-		€	€	€	€m
not over 3,000	290,100	64,426,105	13,244,063	10,075,615	87,745,783
3,001-4,000	4,246	1,230,531	213,248	133,190	1,576,969
4,001-5,000	3,704	1,263,209	322,942	208,664	1,794,815
5,001-6,000	2,355	1,092,544	294,810	203,070	1,590,424
6,001-7,000	1,448	830,418	293,788	233,310	1,357,516
7,001-8,000	1,755	1,255,710	394,454	390,539	2,040,703
8,001-9,000	2,038	1,615,902	693,428	601,418	2,910,748
9,001-10,000	1,693	1,575,489	606,273	806,220	2,987,982
10,001-11,000	2,006	1,822,218	770,367	1,627,996	4,220,581
11,001-12,000	2,963	2,636,063	1,305,594	3,189,258	7,130,915
12,001-13,000	2,609	2,540,190	1,448,240	3,152,233	7,140,663
13,001-14,000	2,377	2,916,371	1,457,841	2,643,864	7,018,076
14,001-15,000	1,725	2,296,929	1,174,719	2,030,469	5,502,117
15,001- 16,000	898	1,566,768	555,673	917,862	3,040,303
16,001-17,000	466	955,234	378,335	346,234	1,679,803
17,001-18,000	241	559,981	150,986	191,100	902,067
18,001-19,000	105	255,093	73,077	63,116	391,286
19,001-20,000	51	139,986	37,664	46,813	224,463
20,001 or more	151	374,185	127,625	198,120	699,930
TOTAL	320,966	89,352,926	23,543,127	27,059,091	139,955,144

Miscellaneous Vehicles

Vehicle Type	No. of Vehicles		Licensing Period		Total
-	31 December 2011	Annual	Half-yearly	Quarterly
-		€	€	€	€m
Off Road Dumper	13	6,128	1,700	4,536	12,364
Dumper/Forklift Truck	2,074	182,622			182,622
Excavator/Digger	4,228	356,639			356,639
Mobile Machine	5,530	1,373,456	162,415	88,287	1,624,158
Agricultural Tractor	64,423	5,713,888			5,731,888
General Haulage Tractor	939	251,932	15,754	7,938	275,624
Taxi/Hackney	25,129	2,082,615			2,082,615
Schoolbus	833	70,095			70,095
Large PSV/Youth/Community Bus	8,276	1,713,378	220,124	122,253	2,055,755
Motorcycle	36,582	2,605,713			2,605,713
Vintage & Veteran	27,194	1,240,930			1,240,930
Motor Caravan	10,938	966,925			966,925
Island Vehicle	814	72,814			72,814
Hearse	856	75,814			75,814
TOTAL	187,826	16,730,737	399,999	223,220	17,353,956

Vehicle licence arrears receipts 2011 by motor tax class

Motor Tax Class	Receipts
-	€m
Private – engine capacity	17,874,617
Private – CO2	1,084,638
Goods	3,438,957
Dumper/Forklift Truck	5,260
Excavator/Digger	9,405
Mobile Machine	40,947
Agricultural Tractor	150,274
General Haulage Tractor	5,162
Taxi/Hackney	33,678
Schoolbus	832
Large PSV/Youth/Community Bus	29,445
Motorcycles	83,792
Vintage & Veteran	25,723
Motor Caravan	19,675
Island Vehicle	2,333
Hearse	1,869
TOTAL	22,806,607

Deputy Barry Cowen

I thank the Minister of State and look forward to the information. I might ask a further question subsequent to receiving it.

My question is on foot of reports to the effect that the Government is seeking to raise a further €100 million from this section in tomorrow's budget. It would come on top of last year's increase of 50% in the case of CO2 band cars. Has the Government abandoned efforts to promote environmentally friend vehicles or does it have a new initiative of which no one is aware to promote these vehicles?

In regard to the household charge fiasco last year and the manner in which the Department cut the Central Fund to local authorities on foot of the collection, or lack of, on the part of some local authorities, was the Minister not mindful at any time in the entire saga of the fact that many motorists had paid their motor tax and that they were not taken into consideration when he then saw fit to cut the budgets of local authorities, and in doing that saw fit to cut the funding available to local authorities to deal with secondary, primary and regional roads? Had the Minister not thought of them when he cut the funding? Did he not think about people telephoning radio stations this morning to report that no salt gritting had been applied to many roads throughout the country? They were not taken into consideration when the Minister made the decision to cut local authority funding in the manner in which he did. In my local authority, for example, this year more than €500,000 has been taken from a budget that it had agreed in good faith this time last year. I have no doubt it would have taken seriously its role in the collection of the household charge had it been properly organised, given proper notice, informed in time and given the support necessary in order to do it properly.

An Leas-Cheann Comhairle

I will revert to the Deputy. The Minister of State must be given an opportunity to respond.

Deputy Barry Cowen

The Minister took the motorists out of the equation when he made the decision.

Deputy Fergus O'Dowd

On a positive light, when people go to a Garda station to say that their car has not been driven for X amount of time and therefore they do not have to pay their motor tax, it is commonly referred to as gapping. We are dealing with that. The loss to the Exchequer is believed to be approximately €55 million per annum. The matter will be dealt with shortly. The Minister, Deputy Hogan, has a file with the Attorney General on the issue. We are ensuring that does not happen. In future one will have to declare in advance that one’s car will be off the road before one can benefit. Whatever happens in this or any other budget, any changes the Government makes will be in line with the terms of reference of the review which we announced last year. The adjustment of CO2 bands and rates of VRT and motor tax in line with technological advances in motor vehicles will maintain a positive environmental incentive to reduce transport emissions and ensure a stable funding base for motor taxes. If anything were to happen, one would still have an incremental difference.

Deputy Barry Cowen

I take it from the response the Minister of State agrees with my allegation that when the Government decided to cut funding to local authorities in the manner in which it did in the middle of the year, it had no consideration whatsoever for the motorist who had paid his motor tax in good faith and the expectation he had for the maintenance of the roads in his county.

Deputy Fergus O'Dowd

I refute that utterly. Coming from a party which in 1977 – perhaps the Deputy was not around then-----

Deputy Barry Cowen

No, I was not elected to the Dáil in 1977. I had no hand, act or part in it.

Deputy Fergus O'Dowd

I remind him that Fianna Fáil did away with motor tax completely.

Deputy Barry Cowen

I was elected to this Dáil in 2011 and perhaps the Minister of State would deal with the questions which relate to people's livelihood.

Deputy Fergus O'Dowd

I did not interrupt Deputy Cowen. Let me repeat, in 1977 the then Fianna Fáil Government did away completely with all motor taxation-----

Deputy Barry Cowen

That has nothing to do with the question. The Minister of State should address the question.

Deputy Fergus O'Dowd

-----and household charges.

Deputy Barry Cowen

We are not playing that game.

Deputy Fergus O'Dowd

That is one of the reasons we got into the current mess. We are trying to clear up the last mess Fianna Fáil made when in government and part of the process is, unfortunately, what needs to happen. Any differentiation that existed previously with reduced CO2 emissions will continue even in the event of a change.

Question No. 59 answered with Question No. 57.