Earlier this week a special report on the administration and collection of motor tax was published writes Geraldine Herbert
- Just over €1 billion in motor tax was collected in 2015.
- While the number of cars being taxed has increased, revenue has actually fallen due to the lower average tax paid per car. Since 2008 the Motor tax system is based on emissions but cars bought before that are paying considerably more as tax is based on engine size.
- If the current motor tax system continues to be based on emissions motor tax receipts will fall by around €29 million per year every year until 2024.
- What is the level of compliance with Motor Tax regulations? We don’t know as it is not monitored or reported nor is there any data on the impact of changes to regulations governing off-the-road declarations, introduced in 2013.
- It is thought motor tax evasion could be around 5%; this figure is based on an analysis of vehicles on the M50 in 2010 and 2011, however due to data protection concerns a similar analysis has not been repeated.
- 67% of people now renew their motor tax online.
- Dublin, Kildare and Meath have the highest online payment rates at over 75% in each case.
- Westmeath, Longford, Roscommon and Donegal have the lowest proportion of online payment at less than 50%.
- Our paper tax disc is often criticised but a paperless system would not necessarily increase compliance, in the UK, motor tax evasion rose from 0.6% to 1.4% when the country moved away from paper tax discs to a number-plate recognition system.
- The cost of administering the motor tax payment service is almost €50m annually.
Geraldine Herbert
30th March, 2017
