VRT, especially around the border, why no amnesty?

NIMAN

Up here around the border counties the issue of VRT and its collection has been a hot topic over the last year or so.

There have been many reports of heavy-handed tactics from Customs officials, plus many bad media reports on the same. Add to this the supposed cost of bringing in extra Customs staff from around the country to do the spot checks.

I have always wondered why the Gov/relevant dept just don't offer a 3month amnesty for all those driving foreign cars?

Announce it, tell folk that you can now switch over your car(s) for free and any cars caught after this time will be confiscated immediately and/or very heavy fines issued.

Knowing plenty of people myself who evaded changing their cars over, they are now outside their time to do it for free, and are simply ducking and diving, avoiding any checkpoints. Some admitted they would change their car to a RoI plate if it was free.

Surely it would be a good idea? It would mean the State would gain all those extra car taxes, insurance premiums.

Why not?

Wile E. Coyote

NIMAN wrote: »

Surely it would be a good idea? It would mean the State would gain all those extra car taxes, insurance premiums.

Why not?

Because when we all started importing cheaper cars from the north they'd lose a fortune on VRT on new cars.

NIMAN

Wile E. Coyote wrote: »

Because when we all started importing cheaper cars from the north they'd lose a fortune on VRT on new cars.

I meant only for those who own a car now (or the past few years) and who are already in the South living. This is the case for most of the folk I am chatting about.

I don't mean that all of us can head straight out and buy a car in NI now and change it over for free.

Wile E. Coyote

It doesn't benefit them to give an amnesty though. The only people who benefit are the ones who haven't bothered to pay the VRT and re-reg the car down, here as they are legally obliged to do. The customs officers are being paid either way so it's not costing the state anything extra by having them carry out the spot checks.

NIMAN

Every person who moved from NI to RoI was able to change over one car free of charge.

Many many people didn't bother, as they kept their cars registered and insured at their old addresses (perhaps parents house).

Once it got outside of the legal time to do it, things just went on and on and now I know of people in RoI 10+yrs and are still driving NI reg cars.

Surely if you got these people to pay their road tax in RoI it would be beneficial? After all, I lived in an estate in Donegal and 90% of people still had their NI cars despite all the crackdowns, so they obviously aren't working. Imagine how many NI cars are in Ireland - you can't catch everyone. Better to get them to change of their own freewill and start contributing to the coffers here.

Well I think so anyway.

Slasher

NIMAN wrote: »

Why not?

Because the law is the law and must be applied equally to all citizens in the state.

Yes, there were income tax amnesties in the past, but they were just political stunts.

NIMAN

Slasher wrote: »

Because the law is the law and must be applied equally to all citizens in the state.

Yes, there were income tax amnesties in the past, but they were just political stunts.

Stunts that brought in a pile of cash that they would have missed otherwise!

I am sticking to my guns here. I think it would be a good idea. Are we not trying to get every cent we can into the Gov coffers at present? This would be a small help, but a help nonetheless.