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Drivers of new petrol and diesel SUVs could be hit with new “weight-based” vehicle registration and motor taxes in the next budget.
The government’s tax advisors suggested the introduction of weight-based taxation among options to plug the hole in the exchequer from the switch to electric cars. The electrification of the fleet is costing €1.5 billion per year in lost motor tax, VAT, and petrol and diesel excise receipts.
The Department of Finance published reports yesterday from the government’s Tax Strategy Group, comprising senior officials and political advisers from across the Civil Service.
This year’s report on Climate Action and Tax examined the introduction of “weight-based” taxation, whereby heavier cars get a heavier tax.
The advisors noted that the weight of a vehicle “generally correlates with vehicle emissions” and suggested that the introduction of a weight-based tax would incentivise the purchase of vehicles with lower emissions.
It also explored similar schemes in other EU member states such as France, which has introduced the scheme as an additional charge, on top of motor tax, with a cap of €50,000 and an exemption for EVs.
France introduced weight-based taxes for every petrol or diesel car that went over the permitted 1,800 kilogram allowance – at €10 for every additional kilogram.
The TSG said the Irish vehicle registration tax (VRT) and motor tax system “could theoretically adapt a similar surcharge for cars falling beyond a certain weight or size threshold”.
The TSG noted that while uptake of EVs has been “slow in the past”, with EVs only making up approximately 2.7% of the national fleet, uptake is “currently moving more rapidly”.
Statistics from the Society of the Irish Motor Industry indicate that over 50% of new petrol and diesel cars, bought last year, were SUVs.
Other suggestions from the TSG to balance the deficit included the introduction of congestion charges. The TSG noted that a project from the Department of Transport, Project BRUCE (Better Road User Charging Evaluation), is currently considering this.
The TSG added that as the uptake of electric vehicles continues to increase, the government will have to consider the “financial sustainability” of tax breaks of up to €5,000 for EVs.
Over half of people who bought a new EV were able to benefit from tax relief last year. Full tax relief is only available on cars costing less than €40,000 however, the average price of a new EV is €51,377. Partial relief is available on cars costing between €40,000 and €50,000.
Revenue from band one of VRT, which covers EVs and the best performing hybrids, has seen “significant growth” since the last budget, while revenue from VRT bands for vehicles with much higher emissions has fallen.
The TSG suggested a 1% increase for those on the higher bands of VRT (bands 11-20) would allow the exchequer to regain revenue from the vehicles that have “above average” emissions, such as SUVs.
This increase, while raising an estimated €26 million, would be in line with the “polluter pays” priniciple, the TSG said.
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just making stuff up as they go along this shower.
@paulie: Not necessarily. Weight based motor tax has been considered before in many jurisdictions.
@paulie: All taxes are made up are they not?
@paulie: it kind of makes sense though. Heavier cars induce more wear and tear on the roadway. Why shouldn’t those with heavier cars not be made to pay more tax so that roads can be maintained? Motor tax just about covers annual road maintenance and improvement in Ireland, but there are of course other societal costs that motor tax doesn’t cover, such as new roads, parking (fee too low to cover costs), health costs, carbon credit costs, etc.
An added benefit of a weight-based tax is that it can be relatively progressive as smaller/lighter cars are usually more affordable and that it can improve safety as heavier cars are generally more dangerous.
An even fairer system would be to also include a user pays tax like a Vehicle Miles Travelled Tax so that those who drive more (i.e. use our tax payer-funded infra a lot), pay more.
@Name not provided: those who drive more are taxed more? So for those who can’t afford to live in Dublin are already paying hundreds a week on petrol/diesel to get to work will be forced to pay more. Sorry no but we’re being screwed enough already.
@Roy Dowling: use/live nearer to public transport? Many inner-city communities in Dublin are not particularly well off and huge numbers don’t own cars. Yet they are asked to cough up for the motorist who drives into the city and destroys their health, public realm and quality of life. Hardly a fair situation? Money raised from motor tax can provide you with transport alternatives so that you won’t have to drive as much, leading to a lower cost burden for you.
@Name not provided: nobody Is paying any burden for me. This is about motor tax so if they don’t own a car they aren’t paying it. An electric car weighs more than my diesel car yet it’s not being considered for this new weight tax. So why should I have to take the burden for drivers of electric vehicles?
@Name not provided: Ironically, Electric Vehicles are much heavier than most cars due to their huge batteries, counties in the UK are struggling because their excess weight is wrecking roads that aren’t used to it. Just another thing to add to the many reasons we are not ready for electric vehicles in this country.
@Roy Dowling: I agree that electric and diesel should pay the same weight-based motor tax, but that ICE cars should have an added emissions-based tax
@Roy Dowling: You’ll have to take the burden because that’s what the govt might decide. You don’t get a choice in it…….. Buy an electric if you don’t like it, it will save you money on fuel too, albeit an expensive initial investment.
@another one? what’s going on is the semi state sec: So put myself into debt to buy a new car. Yea that’s going to save me money.
@Name not provided: Grand so. As long as all the production emissions for cars are added to the cost. That way ev car which is worse for the environment to build is fully accounted for
@another one? what’s going on is the semi state sec: Do yourself a favour. Go research how bad for the environment it is to build an electric car. Then research how many miles a year you have to drive and for how many years you need to drive it before it is better for the environment than a new diesel car bought at the same time. When you do come back to me.
@Keith Twamley: What an incorrect statement Ireland is one of the best countries for EV usage due to our small size as a country. Why post blatant lies what’s your agenda or is it just a lack of knowledge?
@Roy Dowling: You said why should you take the tax burden of electric vehicles! It’s irrelevant, if the govt say that’s what’s happening then that’s what’s happening, despite what Roy Dowling posts on the Journal comments section….. But you keep having a little cry about it if it makes you feel better.
@B6Tr3OgE: Ha ha, you obviously don’t listen to user experiences, not enough charging points, outdated charging points, battery charging capacities changing regularly. Very expensive to buy new ones, no real second hand market due to a tech evolving product. Huge environmental impact in making EV’s, a lot of milage would have to be done to offset these. Where are my lies?
@Name not provided: Where do you park your car? Parking charges are very high. It’s not the motorists fault that the money is syphoned to a UK company. Heavier cars are safer because they are stronger. I don’t want to drive a plastic chassis car with tin seats, just to maintain the road network
@B6Tr3OgE: EV’s are also almost a third heavier than their petrol diesel counter parts, do you think Ireland’s roads are ready for a majority of EV’s?
@Name not provided: are you deluded?
The taxes will be eaten up and wasted as they have been for generations at this point.
@Sean O’Dhubhghaill: And rejected as not fit for purpose.
@Name not provided: Trying to say this is for the inner city community is outlansdish.The people destroyig the urban realm and the quality of life are behind this scham.
Lower Tax and the greens do not go together,
Oh, they’re only looking for extra revenue at this point. Sure EVs are heavier because of their currently weighty battery packs. So how can anyone claim that weight correlated to emissions? Is that tax going towards fixing any roads?
@F Fitzgerald: they are looking for ways to replace the money they currently get from excise on petrol/diesel but which will disappear as more cars go electric.
@Dermot Lane: ICE cars aren’t going anywhere for a while yet. VW is shutting part of it Emden plant this summer for 6 weeks. Reason being? EV demand is down 30%. Production of ICE cars is unaffected.
@Dermot Lane: New ones raise VAT all right, but most of us couldn’t afford to buy new. I can see it’s better to have incentives to buy cleaner cars, less pollution and fair enough, but still, expanding public transport would do much more.
@F Fitzgerald: why should the motorist be able to drive around tax-free on roads paid for by tax payers, many of whom don’t own cars?
@Name not provided: you’re the only person that has mentioned tax free. Public transport is non existent, I live 15 miles outside Cork and drive 6 miles on the N25 each day to work, why, because there is no suitable public transport.
@Name not provided: What are you talking about. who in Ireland is ‘tax-free’ ? (apart from the multinationals)
@Lorne Malvo:
” VW is shutting part of it Emden plant this summer for 6 weeks. Reason being? EV demand is down 30%. Production of ICE cars is unaffected.”
That is BS,Lorno.
irishexaminer.com/business/companies/arid-41187004.html
“Buyers in Germany registered 52,988 fully electric cars in June, the most in Europe and a 64% increase from the same month last year. France also contributed to EV growth with 33,280 sales, while the Netherlands added 13,892 battery-powered cars.”
@F Fitzgerald: It doesn’t matter what you buy, the Govt will still make you pay exorbitant tax. Remember when tax was changed from CC of engine to emissions. Tax was brought down for new cars, but is steadily rising again to almost previous levels
Plenty of money for Ukrainians and other migrants,
@Brian molloy: Don’t forgot about paying the dole of plenty of the journals anti migrant brigade
@Brian molloy: Just think Brian, you could double your dole money by taking in a Ukranian Refugee. That would get you more weed to rot the few brain cells you have left.
@Alan Cooke: I work for my money unlike ye leftwing wasters
@Brian molloy: True colours and anti everything feelings showing through there Brian.
@Brian molloy: dealing drugs is not a proper job.
@Brian molloy: Leo the Leak Varadkar just threw away another 5 million of your euros at Zelenskyy today !
@Brian molloy: thank god for that eh!!!
@Alan Cooke: why be so nasty it says a lot more about u
And in a decade or two down the road when there are mostly electric cars on the road…boom, all the excise duty lost from petrol and diesel will be passed onto electric cars via one off registration levy, battery recycling levy, road usage tax, weight tax of your electric car, congestion charges, massive toll increases. Will be the biggest twist since the sixth sense.
@Dan The Man: you said it.
@Dan The Man: Of course. The surprise is that you are surprised by this. Revenue must be raised.
@Sean O’Dhubhghaill: yes cos all that revenue is need to fix the roads? wait no thats not true, make sure we dont have to pay tolls on motorways, wait no we have to do that as well. Wait I know it will be used to set up another pointless quango like the motor tax was used before for Irish water
Shower of gunts!
@Lorne Malvo: Yup! Interesting to see how the whole entire dialogue is about how they will take more money from people in existing overpriced contexts. So the Irish public are again the whipping boy at the bottom of the argument. Will they “fill those gaps?”… absolutely, will it be better and/or to the provision for the Irish public, absolutely not. I mean are we supposed to cheer the continued gouging of the early riser”… this lot will be decimated at the next election.
@thesaltyurchin: you can sing that buddy!
@Lorne Malvo: ‘Play Me Off Johnny’
So not only will we have a VAT, VRT, and a motor tax , they are now planning another tax…we the Irish people are so passive in our attitude to government taxation…they are like the Sheriff of Nottingham taxing the poor to enrich the elite
@Paul Maguire: Also add Customs charges to your list.
@Paul Maguire: so SUV owners are not part of the elite? It’s tough being a yummy mummy traversing the back roads of D4 in a Land Rover.
Will be designed to be unfair , don’t kid yourself that the government have its citizens welfare as a core fundamental. We have seen repeatedly that they bleed its citizens to the max to pay cronies, quangos and waste revenue on anything they touch. Saddest part is joe public has got accustomed to it now and resigned to accept this regime
@Anon: what is unfair is that the taxpayers who don’t own cars are asked to cough up taxes for the maintenance of infrastructure that is overwhelmingly used by motorists. Not only do not reap the benefits of their tax, but they’re paying towards a transport system that actively makes their health and quality of life worse.
What is fair that the motorist covers the societal cost using their car. They are nowhere near covering those costs at the current motor tax rate.
@Name not provided: Unfortunately we are all connected. Cant understand the difference between someone letting the air out of a vehicle they deem ‘too big’ being different from say ridiculing people who are over weight because they’re a burden. That too we, er all have to pay for.
@Name not provided: I pay tax that the government squander on things that are irrelevant or never used by me. Are you now suggesting a new tax regime that people can cherry pick what taxes they want to pay? I don’t use public transport in any shape or form therefor why should I contribute my hard earned Euros towards it? And before any sarcastic remarks, I work from home and have a major supermarket five minutes walk from my door….fortunately.
@Name not provided: Are you just quiting the greens mantra? Prove what you say!
Also motor vehicle transport is essential to large parts of the community.
Or do they not count in the perfect green world.
These electric cars are a con job.
Ask any tow truck driver.
@Gerard Carey: Why? Loads of people never need to get a tow. Less working parts, less maintenance needed on EVs.
@F Fitzgerald: A study in the UK found that the breakdown rate for electric vehicles is close to 3 times the rate of an ice vehicle. The average cost to fix an EV car was also double what it cost to fix an ice vehicle.
@Roy Dowling: What was the breakdown rate of i.c.e cars in 1920/1930? Similar stage of development.
@Sean O’Dhubhghaill: No it was based on new ice and electric vehicles being sold. Nobody cares about the breakdown rates of cars in the 1900s. Previous Development doesn’t matter to the person stuck on the side of the road.
@Roy Dowling: Maybe they were charged more because they could charge more. There’s a lot fewer moving parts in an EV, so the odds are that they’re paying for the novelty of Googling what to do. I remember having to do emergency fixes on a petrol car to get home. Back then people could service their own cars and save money.
@Roy Dowling: “The number of breakdowns, on average, was also higher for a plug-in vehicle – 3.1 incidents for an EV versus 1.9 for an ICE vehicle.” Still a 63% difference, but not as much as you said (300%).
@David Jordan: We are quite impressed with your ability to massage the figures. While nobody mentioned 300% (rather, 3 times) and given the correct calculation yields 200%, don’t let that stop you from making up your own figures. Excellent accounting. Your cheque is in the post.
@Corporate Interests:
The sum is written backwards, tell the postmaster ;)
@F Fitzgerald:
@F Fitzgerald: Which means when they break down whicgh they do a lot, it is a serious costly issue.
“The polluter pays” principal has to be the most laughable and disingenuous part of the whole carbon reduction charade. The multinationals and corporations should be picking up every cent of the tab for carbon reduction. Until that day; they can f@&k off. When they stop doing ridiculous things like flying British apples to South America to be polished and then flying them back again for market or flying the exact same amount of beef from the EU to the US and they they fly from the US to Europe; they can come back to me.
@Louis Jacob: Could you show is a reference, please, for the food jpurneys you mention?
@Louis Jacob: my god, whare do you get such ridiculous information? And did you really think before posting it?
@John Mulligan: Some of the best mussels in the world are from Kerry, the fly them to France, put them in french waters for 3 days where they then become French and obvs much more delicious. I don’t suppose you two have ever heard of ‘business’ have you?
It will be more expensive to drive an electric car in the future just you watch , remember( you will have nothing but be happy)
@john mac: I’m so bored with that corny phrase, it’s only for monks.
Surely the whole point of Motor tax is to maintain the roads for vehicles? Heavier vehicles cause more wear on roads so this would be sensible IF it also included EVs which are quite weighty and cause more damage over time?
@john murray: Right now farmers are ripping around our roads doing what they like to get the crop sorted (as well they should). Are those roads big enough for two vehicles? nope, are they maintained or resurfaced? Nope.
Just take my wage and give me back enough for bread and water. Thanks.
@mixterz: No problem!
So the truths out, no matter what the Motorist does to be Environmentally compliant, the Government is still going to bog their hands in, and use them for a Cash Cow. What Environment friendly cutbacks has the Government imposed on themselves, and Minister Ryan still sending the Bike by Train while he travels by Car.
No metro, no dart underground and two LUAS lines with one going north a little bit and rail lines closed over the decades all over the country. When you don’t fund infrastructure for years what do expect? People are going to drive as many have no option. Looking back on the metro project in particular. It had planning permission approved over 10 years ago. The amount of work to required get to that stage was colossal. And they didn’t do it. It would have been about 3 times cheaper and would have opened in 2016/2017. Now instead we have at least three times the price a 20 year delay IF all goes according to plan from here. Pathetic.
@John Moore: Well said. It’s so mismanaged. But sure they had to sell more new cars.
@John Moore: One train line west out of Hueston. One.
There’s a new Electric vehicle being made in Germany…
It’s called a voltswagon.
Another tax plain and simple. Roll on the next election where we can show our appreciation to these virtue signalling, woke, climate loonies. They are all chomping at the bit to be the ones remembered for banning and taxing anything remotely joy giving to the irish public. Pity they wouldn’t move as fast to build houses for their citizens.
Here we go again. Penalise the people who genuinely can’t afford a new car. Never mind an EV which is out of most people’s reach anyways. People who rely on the second hand petrol or diesel market for their cars. The sooner the greens are gone the better. Don’t meet the EU’s target emissions let’s just pay them millions of euro in fines. Stupidity. Give the money back to the people to retro fit our houses.
@John Flynn:
Sorry John, that is BS.
Half of the new electric cars receive no purchase grant since they cost over € 50,000 and the other half isn’t purchased by the poor.
This is great. SUVs need to be taxed off the road. There should be exemptions for people who need them for business, but that’s all.
@Dermot Lane: Tax electric bikes and scooters. Same principle as electric cars, SUV’s and buses.
@Dermot Lane: Tax electric cars by weight to pay for the infrastructure needed to run electric cars makes more sense.
@Dermot Lane: Yes Benito. We bow to your tyranny.
@Dermot Lane: Or just tax multinationals and data centers that cause a lot of pollution and dont pay enough or how about lumping a nice carbon tax on all private jets and yachts in Ireland, ah but then ud upset the buddies of the mob in the dail
@Dermot Lane: Or for people who live in areas where the roads are not suitable for normal cars.
@Tom Newell: no get SUVs off the roads as much as possible. They are not suitable for city driving, they are more dangerous to other road users and indeed to the drivers. Farmers, delivery co’s and some business are justified in using them, that’s about it.
@thesaltyurchin: we’re in ireland, all the roads are suitable for cars. If an suv is needed for off road or farm, fair enough, but they should be discouraged from driving in towns and cites as much as possible.
@Dermot Lane: Don’t get outside the M5o much eh Dermot? Might as well be off road out here, plus if something is going to smash into you because the road isn’t wide enough it is 100% going to be a HGV or commercial vehicle. Choose your weapon?
I drive a jag.
Only electric is the thumping Bose sound system, as I drive the back roads to avoid the M50
Tool ?
No thanks
I already paid for roads trough my motor tax. Just cause Gov diverted large chunks of this money to start up, prop up and support Irish Water is not my concern.
And another thing.
I sometimes suspect they deliberately keep public transport at inadequate levels to ensure people have to have cars. Compare Dublin to other European cities of over a million people in terms of public transport and we are a joke. Not to mention that Dublin is not only over a million, it is the capital city. 10 years after first discussion and still no airport rail link. Two LUAS lines, when it needs about 10.I Two DART routes, up and down teh East coast. f there was no demand for extra LUAS/Metro i would understand, but LUAS and DART is jammed at rush hours.
Yet these Ministers and junior Ministers on well over 100 grand with all their consultants and Advisors cant come up with a plan.
Does this government not realise that the reason we’re driving petrol and diesel vehicles is because we can’t afford to buy an electric car
While the likes of the wealthy Aviation industry pays zero tax on aviation fuel, has non-binding emission targets, benefits from government subsides routes and has no realistic or viable way of decoupling emissions for growth. Let the Aviation industry could plug the hole in the exchequer or maybe the Government and the Greens class aviation C02 emissions as a special climate friendly type of pollution.
@john dennehy: They like their businesss class flights to China and the UN!
But the government told us to buy Diesel in the first place. Now it’s our fault they are loosing tax on the latest fad that is EVs.
@did you every wonder: That was the Green party that did that. The they said Hybrids ad EVs, not they wabt to tax them out of the proice rage of most people!
It is a Ryan version of “Let them eat cake”
And then after that they’ll just tax EVs at the same level as every other vehicle. Then they’ll tax drivers who want to drive their own vehicle in the switch to autonomous driving. The majority of Western populations are like frogs being slowly boiled.
You’ve done nothing in 30 years FFFGG, I really want to vote for you but I cant abide people who are incapable of doing the jobs they are hired to do. You will be annihilated at the next election. Rightfully so.
When ye look at other European countries don’t just focus on how they tax people but also how they don’t tax people! In France there is no road tax!
All the car manufacturers are now lashing up the prices of the EV’s so what’s the point on buying one when it’s going to cost you double the price of a conventional car with less usability.
We could all walk or run to work and this shower, despite us running vastly lower emissions, would tax us for breathing too much while running/walking faster. Its all about money rather than trying to get us all to use public transport. Its all BS they’re spouting
Who here was new enough to think this wasn’t going to happen? It was always going to come from somewhere, can’t tax diesel/petrol anymore? Tax the car owner directly. I lived in a country where a hatch-back of about 30k here cost about 80k euro new because of all the taxes they lumped onto it, the tax was front loaded, if you sold the car you simply passed on the remaining tax. Not saying this is great news, just saying I am not surprised.
They literally haven’t a clue what to do or how to plug the gap in “falling” motor tax – they are so obsessed with the virtual signalling they have completely thrown all logos out the window- how on Earth is this suppose to be a solution / just use the brains / if they are trying to address the problem of falling motor tax revenues – then increasing taxes on the electric cars is what they need to do / by increasing taxes on heavier cars they will accelerate the switch to electric / which leaves a bigger hole and reduces motor tax income / literally the opposite to what they claim they are trying to do / they have themselves in a hook now because we generate around 5billion annually from cars in tax / and the switch to electric is dramatically eroding this / this is idiotic proposal
@Dave Hammond: But it distracts from the massive failures elsewqhere that they have been responsible for!
This could be the incentive I need to lose a few lbs
(P.S. I didn’t actually read the article, but I’m going to comment anyway)
Put Helium in your tyres?
Motor Tax, VRT, Weight Tax, Tax.
So if every smoker quits, and the Government lose out on cigarette Tax, are we going to have to pay a fresh air tax or something?
Heavy EVs might be the last ones buying electricity from the grid …. :
euronews.com/my-europe/2023/07/19/eu-electricity-demand-set-to-drop-to-lowest-level-in-twenty-years-international-energy-age
In detail see page 38:
iea.blob.core.windows.net/assets/2d1b41b0-2cf7-4b24-aa22-e8d0492e619c/ElectricityMarketReport_Update2023.pdf
@Juri Hertel:
The energy circus in Ireland still claims that there is an increasing electricity demand because of electrification.
Other countries 10 or 20 years ahead prove the opposite.
Gas demand is also going down b.t.w.:
spglobal.com/commodityinsights/en/market-insights/latest-news/natural-gas/071823-iea-cuts-european-gas-demand-forecast-for-2023-now-sees-7-decline
And the Irish energy circus wants the Pesco/Nato army to protect pipelines and cables … against rust.
more Ryan car hating lunacy …
have your say