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Monday, February 13, 2012


Cowen to axe tax breaks for large hybrid cars and SUVs


The Minister for Finance Brian Cowen is reportedly going to axe tax breaks for large hybrid cars in next month's Budget.

Minister Cowen is expected to close off a loophole that gives a discount of more than €13,000 on large saloons and SUVs operating on a combination of petrol and electricity.

The tax break will remain however for smaller hybrid cars, like the Toyota Prius.

A number of Government ministers have recently switched their state cars to large hybrid saloons - but environmentalists have claimed that they are not worthy of green tax breaks, as they produce far more emissions than smaller diesel models.