Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I am concerned about this section. I do not support it because I have not seen evidence of the impact it will have, particularly on low-income households. I have raised some motorists' need for larger cars in the debate on numerous Finance Bills. I would like to raise the issue of how motor tax is charged, which I have continually raised with the Minister. As the Minister acknowledges, 8% of motorists will see an increase. That means tens of thousands of people, albeit a minority, will see increases of between €10 and €40.

Motorists who pay motor tax but are not in a position to pay annually face a penalty. I do not expect the Minister to deal with this issue now and I do not have an amendment to the Finance Bill on it. However, I appeal to the Minister to get with the times. We must tax fairly, whether we are trying to raise revenue or change behaviour. It is unfair to apply an additional charge to those who are not in a position to pay their motor tax annually and instead pay on a biannual or quarterly basis. This charge dates from an era when this tax created a quite heavy administrative burden involving paperwork, postage, stamps and whatnot. With the evolution of technology and the Internet, most motor tax renewals are done online. Someone who pays motor tax online but cannot afford to pay it annually pays it quarterly instead. As a result he or she pays 13% more. The quarterly charge is not 25% of the yearly tax, but rather 28.25%. This means a person in this position pays 113% of the tax charged on his or her vehicle. Someone who is in a position to pay the tax every six months is charged an additional 11%. He or she pays 55.5% of the nominal charge every six months and 111% per year.

I acknowledge that collecting tax, posting out a disc and so on may create an administrative burden. However, the cost is not that high. The total additional money raised by the State as a result of people paying motor tax on a quarterly or biannual basis is €52.7 million. We need to reduce this. I appeal to the Minister to have this reviewed in a serious way by the tax strategy group. Perhaps it does not need that. This has not been changed for decades. Fairness must be applied. Taxing cars according to their emissions raises revenue but it is really intended to change behaviour, and rightly so. I question whether it is the right approach and wonder if we are doing enough to incentivise alternatives, but that is for another day. We should not penalise those who cannot pay every full year. People with cars that emit more should pay more tax, but they should not have to pay 13% more because they cannot pay in one go. I would appreciate if the Minister took this seriously and reviewed it for the reasons I have suggested. An additional 13% burden is not acceptable.