Car values will somersault after July tax changes

I WISH to highlight the anomalies caused by the motoring VRT changes announced in the last budget.

The move to CO2 emissions-linked VRT and road tax rates is a great incentive to buy a low emissions car after July. However, on the negative side, the changes will cause real problems for existing owners of low CO2 cars.

The changes will introduce a two-tier road tax system as there will be the anomaly of identical cars having different tax rates as a result of the date they were first registered in Ireland.

To give an example, I bought a new low CO2 car in Ireland in January ‘07 and the current road tax, after the budget adjustments, is approximately €550. After July, when the changes come into effect, anyone can go to Britain, buy a car identical to mine, import it and he or she will only have to pay €150 annual road tax. The end result is that low CO2 cars registered after July will become a lot more valuable than the existing low CO2 cars already in Ireland. The cars most affected by this in the main are your standard diesel family saloons and hatchbacks.

I think most diesel car-owners haven’t realised the implications of the budget changes. When they go to trade in at the garage, the first question they will be asked by the salesman is whether the car is in the lower or higher road tax band. Then they will realise something is up.

My solution would be to allow all motorists the option to move to the green system when renewing their road tax, thus allowing those with cleaner cars to benefit in a way that is better for for the environment and the car-owner.

Christopher Sheehan

Barkersford

Athy

Co Kildare