Mattie McGrath (Tipperary South, Independent)
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185. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government in view of the fact that it will be two years on 1 July 2015 since the new motor tax off-the-road rules became law, if he will provide, in tabular form, the number of vehicles taxed for each of the past five years, under the categories private, commercial, buses, taxi and others; if there have been budgetary increases in road tax receipts in the past five years; the motor tax receipts yearly for 1 July 2011 to 30 June 2013, and for 1 July 2013 to 30 June 2014, and up to 31 May 2015; if such changes in motor tax regulations have resulted in the €54 million increase, year on year, as previously indicated by the Government that it would; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22517/15]

Alan Kelly (Tipperary North, Labour)
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The number of vehicles taxed at the end of December in each of the past five years is set out in this table.

Gross receipts for the periods requested are set out in this table.

There have been two budgetary increases in the last five years. These took effect from 1 January 2012 and from 1 January 2013. Accordingly, 2014 is the first full year since the introduction of the new system of declaring vehicles off the road in which budgetary increases did not impact on receipts. Gross motor tax receipts for 2014, at €1.159bn, increased by €41m (3.65%) on 2013 (€1.118bn). In the absence of a motor tax rate increase, a reduction in receipts would otherwise have been expected given the ongoing changeover of the car fleet to the CO₂based system, which carries a lower average tax. Since the introduction of the CO₂ based system, there has been a reduction in receipts in each year where no budgetary increases were applied – receipts fell from €1.057bn in 2009, the first full year of the CO₂based system, to €1.023bn in 2010 and to €1.010bn in 2011.