Rip Off Car Tax

kluivert

Can someone explain the reason why car tax is more expensive if you decide to pay every quarter instead of for the whole year.

This seems to be unfair and discriminates against those who are unable to pay on an annual basis.

Why should ppl who pay on a quarterly basis have to pay a premium for this option.

Why provide the option in the first place.

It seems to me that this is just another way the government can screw the drivers of this country with their crap roads and high vrt never mind the insurance scandal that we face.

But in my honest opinion i think that road tax has become a scandal that know one is willing to tackle.

prospect

I suppose it is the same as anything, buy in bulk and get it cheaper!

A 250g bag of sugar is more expensive per kilo than a 1Kg bag!

blastman

I presume it's effectively interest on your installment plan, same way as you pay more for insurance if you spread it out over ten months.

Mike2006

I suppose it could be because of the extra work involved in printing the 3 extra discs if you pay quarterly and all the other administration involved for 4 transactions instead of 1, postage etc...

Mike.

unkel

It is a lot cheaper to get a loan from a bank / credit union or an overdraft to pay your motor tax annually than it is to take out quarterly tax

The number of quarterly discs I see is beyond me tbh

AMurphy

I've an uncle that does the quarterly or 6 mo bit. His reasoning. given it is so expensive and if he has an accident and write off the car, there is no refund.
so the most he "looses" in such a case is 3 months tax, as opposed to 12.

Seth Brundle

AMurphy wrote:

I've an uncle that does the quarterly or 6 mo bit. His reasoning. given it is so expensive and if he has an accident and write off the car, there is no refund.
so the most he "looses" in such a case is 3 months tax, as opposed to 12.

AFAIK there is a refund if the car is removed from the road (not backdated though)

mike65

I buy in 3 month installments due to habit frankly. It goes back to when I were a lad in the mines...

Mike.

jayok

kbannon wrote:

AFAIK there is a refund if the car is removed from the road (not backdated though)

Correct I once wrote a car off in August with its Tax due in Feb of the following year. Got September - Feb in tax back. But you have a bit of effort to get it.

unkel

kbannon wrote:

AFAIK there is a refund if the car is removed from the road (not backdated though)

Yes but only when the car is scrapped afaik

mike65 wrote:

I buy in 3 month installments due to habit frankly. It goes back to when I were a lad in the mines...

Please Mike, quit that habit and hopefully the rest of the majority of car owners who pay quarterly will see the light too. We all pay way too much already, why pay for an additional and very fat interest charge as well?

Airblazer

do what I do...I only pay tax for 9 months of the year..in the autumn I don't bother with it and renew it then for christmas..way I look at it is I pay about 60% of my salary on tax..this includes the tax/VRT on my new car,PAYE,PRSI and VAT not to mention excise duty.. I work my bollix off and have to watch a government take this off me without any recourse..any chance I get I'll avoid it..

leeroybrown

There is very little difference between the half-year (55.5%) and quarterly (28.5%) rates. I prefer to pay annually and save my 60 euro.

mike65

unkel wrote:

Please Mike, quit that habit and hopefully the rest of the majority of car owners who pay quarterly will see the light too.

You are right and in March I'll renew it for a year unless I decide to sell after the NCT is done (April).

Mike.

MrPudding

AMurphy wrote:

I've an uncle that does the quarterly or 6 mo bit. His reasoning. given it is so expensive and if he has an accident and write off the car, there is no refund.
so the most he "looses" in such a case is 3 months tax, as opposed to 12.

And this makes financial sense? How often does he write off his car?

MrP

Alun

I occasionally do a 3-month or 6-month renewal, but only if I buy a new car and want to get my tax and insurance out of synch so I'm not paying both in the same month. After that it's 1-year renewals every time.

MrPudding

Alun wrote:

I occasionally do a 3-month or 6-month renewal, but only if I buy a new car and want to get my tax and insurance out of synch so I'm not paying both in the same month. After that it's 1-year renewals every time.

That makes sense.

MrP

Borzoi

Alun wrote:

I occasionally do a 3-month or 6-month renewal, but only if I buy a new car and want to get my tax and insurance out of synch so I'm not paying both in the same month. After that it's 1-year renewals every time.

Did a 3-month once, because it was killing me to pay the bloody tax just after Christmass.

But back to the OP points
Quarterly discs mean four times the processing costs, and at the rate those cival servants work, that ain't cheap;)

Secondly the govt isn't getting the benifit of having a large chunk of dough earning sitting in their coffers

As others have said, it's cheaper to borrow the cash than to pay by quarters.

I'm managing to ignore what airblazer said by repeatedly banging my fist through a wall

Alun

Borzoi wrote:

I'm managing to ignore what airblazer said by repeatedly banging my fist through a wall

It's just a shame his head wasn't on the other side What a freeloader.

MarkR

Airblazer wrote:

do what I do...I only pay tax for 9 months of the year..in the autumn I don't bother with it and renew it then for christmas..way I look at it is I pay about 60% of my salary on tax..this includes the tax/VRT on my new car,PAYE,PRSI and VAT not to mention excise duty.. I work my bollix off and have to watch a government take this off me without any recourse..any chance I get I'll avoid it..

How do you manage that, do you get it classed as off the road?

Victor

kluivert wrote:

Can someone explain the reason why car tax is more expensive

The is no such thing as car tax.