Fergus O'Dowd (Louth, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I move amendment No. 1:

In page 3, between lines 17 and 18, to insert the following:

“Amendment of section 1 of Act of 1952
3.Section 1 of the Act of 1952 is amended in paragraph (b) of subsection (2) (amended by section 3 of the Motor Vehicle (Duties and Licences) Act 2008) by substituting “€119” for “€99”.”.

The purpose of this amendment, which inserts a new section 3 in the Bill is to provide a technical change to raise the annual tax threshold above which owners of certain categories of vehicles can obtain a half-yearly or quarterly disk. Under current legislation, those categories of vehicles with an annual tax of €99 or less pay tax on an annual basis only. The amendment aims to ensure that existing conditions of availability of concessionary rates of motor tax are retained for some of the vehicles within this category which were taxed at €95 or less prior to budget 2013 but where the tax was raised to €102 following the budget increase. The vehicles concerned are agricultural tractors, island vehicles, trench diggers, excavators, motor caravans, hearses, dumpers and fork lift trucks. In order to ensure that existing provisions are maintained for those vehicles, this amendment increases the threshold to €119. This sum will ensure that no new vehicle types are brought within the provisions. The new lowest €120 annual tax for electric vehicles, which can be taxed half-yearly and quarterly, would be the next lowest annual tax, while maintaining the status quo for existing categories. The amendment does no more than continue the current arrangements for these categories of vehicles where a concessionary rate of tax applies.