Is motor tax too high??

Hey guys,

I just joined this forum because I wanted to see how everyone else feels about the price of road tax. It's bad enough that we pay over €1 a litre on our fuel to bail out a bank without the added burden of annual motor tax.

I just taxed my 1.8 litre car (its 12 years old and worth about €1800) and it's now €660 a year just for the privilege of owing it.

So, how do you feel about paying huge chunks of your salary just to tax your old car, knowing that there are relatively new cars costing 40k paying only €160-225 for the same road??

Thanks!

rsole1

one77 wrote: »

Hey guys,

I just joined this forum because I wanted to see how everyone else feels about the price of road tax. It's bad enough that we pay over €1 a litre on our fuel to bail out a bank without the added burden of annual motor tax.

I just taxed my 1.8 litre car (its 12 years old and worth about €1800) and it's now €660 a year just for the privilege of owing it.

So, how do you feel about paying huge chunks of your salary just to tax your old car, knowing that there are relatively new cars costing 40k paying only €160-225 for the same road??

Thanks!

I think it's an absolute bargain - top class world beating roads to drive on.

All taxes that impact my life are too high. All taxes that don't are too low.

Mr Benevolent

Yes, that's why I'm considering going over to a classic car. Practically zero tax and you learn much more about how a car needs to be maintained.

biko

"Road tax" doesn't actually pay for the roads.

Tbh, I just pay it and don't compare to other road users. I don't laugh when I see a Jag, think "sucker you pay too much tax".

hfallada

I don't think all motor tax bands are too high. But the fact older cars but a ridculous amount just because their car is slightly older than a newer one. I know it's partly because newer cars are more fuel efficient. But my neighbour 2007 Prius tax is like €350 a year.

An older car uses more fuel than a new one therefore more custom tax revenue for government. But just because someone could afford a new car they should get a cheaper motor tax band even through their car uses less fuel. It's just not logical. I imagine it was lobbying from the motor industry to encourage new car sales

rsole1

rsole1 wrote: »

I think it's an absolute bargain............

Savage value

On a serious note, it's a tax, pain in the arse much like PAYE and PRSI etc etc etc, they all go into the one pot. At least motortax is somewhat controllable in so far as you can change your car if you so desire to pay less motor tax.

Direct taxes bother me much more than motor tax does.

whippet

one77 wrote: »

It's bad enough that we pay over €1 a litre on our fuel to bail out a bank without the added burden of annual motor tax.

I stopped reading here! Bank bail outs have nothing to do with Motor Tax ... The tax has been here since people had cars.

Saab Ed

Dónal wrote: »

All taxes that impact my life are too high. All taxes that don't are too low.

Thats very profound. I'm keeping that.

Hootanany

Should be the same Tax across the board Gas Guzzlers or Thrifty ones first one pays more in the fuel so it's a no brainer

Parsandeman

I think motor tax in Ireland is quite high. Mine was over 600 a year. Since I moved to Sweden it's 80 a year.

whippet

Parsandeman wrote: »

I think motor tax in Ireland is quite high. Mine was over 600 a year. Since I moved to Sweden it's 80 a year.

How much do you pay on income tax etc? You would need to compare taxes in the context of the whole taxation ecosystem

kasper

in the late 70s early 80s we had no car tax in this country for cars under 2 litre

Galwayguy35

Yeah it's too high, I paid €626 last year for a 1.9 golf and it will be even more this year.

Bobbyperu2013

What really annoys me is that it penalises you for being poor. If I had the money to pay the full amount I could save over €100. Taxes should always be fair.

whippet

whippet wrote: »

I stopped reading here! Bank bail outs have nothing to do with Motor Tax ... The tax has been here since people had cars.

Very true and I can't disagree! However, the increasing cost of tax is down to excessive borrowing the lads on top had to do to 'fix' the economy...anyway, that's another days debate!

It's very unfair for people with older cars having to pay, in some cases, more than the value of the car each year! I can't understand how someone can pay 30-40k for a new 320D and only pay €160 while the poor devil who pays 1k for a 12 or 13 year car could be paying €720!

I agree that we should all be paying the same rate or even abolish it completely and just add a few more cent onto the price of fuel

JohnBoy26

I wouldn't mind paying high motor tax if we didn't have all these new taxes such as the property tax. In the Uk they also pay a property tax(council tax)but this is offset by much lower motor tax than ours.

zenno

My motor tax for a year is 3 times the price of my car so....i can only say this...i'm a complete wanker asshole but i pay it because my fat-ass cannot geloly wobble down the road for 1,000 meters.

Tails142

I agree on the point that there are a lot of other stage charges, tv licence and the council bin fee are two that spring to mind which have no penalty for paying either monthly or quarterly. Motor tax should be priced differently, my vote being for it to be incorproated into fuel, used to pay over 2000 a year to tax my last car, downsized considerably due to fuel costs and the tax rate and now pay only 350 or something. Polluter pays principle in a action I suppose now that I drive a smaller car, but to pay large tax rates on 10 year old+ cars seems to make little sense.

NIMAN

I do find the motor tax very high in Ireland, but only cos I know what my friends are paying in NI.

I am thinking of changing my car this year, and rightly or wrongly, the amount of tax is influencing what I am looking at.

And its only going to go higher, so if you buy a car now thats €700 annually for road tax, whose to say that won't go up to €800 next year or two?

NIMAN

NIMAN wrote: »

I do find the motor tax very high in Ireland, but only cos I know what my friends are paying in NI.

I am thinking of changing my car this year, and rightly or wrongly, the amount of tax is influencing what I am looking at.

And its only going to go higher, so if you buy a car now thats €700 annually for road tax, whose to say that won't go up to €800 next year or two?

Thats exactly what I'm gonna do, sell my car and downsize! Even though 1.8 is still quite small...

In the UK it's only 220 pounds in the high tax bracket which I think is fair. Apparently 1 in 4 cars here isn't taxed, I'm sure in most cases because people can't afford it.

I understand the point about the emissions, older cars polluting the place but if you can't afford to change cars I think it's a bit unfair to punish you!

NIMAN

Lets be honest, the Gov care nothing about polluting cars, except if they can tax you more for them.

They offered cheap tax for low polluting cars for a few years, and I bought one. Was happy with my cheap tax, but then they stick it up by 60% in the Budget. Thats hardly a good way to encourage people to not pollute, is it?

When it all comes down to it, its all about money, and sod the environment.

zenno

Lets face it, we are all lazy bastards. We can't even flobber to the shop of which is 1,000 feet away but have the need to drive there, (could be just me out of the population of Ireland)

But we are being screwed big-time, but there again we all just roll up in a fig roll and clam up when we need to fight this daylight robbery of monetary rape from all damn angles.

I see things... I see a bunch of people on a large scale being bent constantly until the friction eventually heats up to a point that snaps.

colm_mcm

Main probles with the motor tax system as I see them;

2 tier emissions and cc systems

Low bands are too cheap, high bands are too expensive.

I reckon the minimum road tax should be €400 and the max €800.

Supergurrier

Current tax system is top heavy tbh, lower brackets are about right, it gets silly after 1.6 though in cc system

JohnBoy26

colm_mcm wrote: »

Main probles with the motor tax system as I see them;

2 tier emissions and cc systems

Low bands are too cheap, high bands are too expensive.

I reckon the minimum road tax should be €400 and the max €800.

A minimum of 400 is way too extreame. You couldn't be expected to pay that much for a supermini.

PSRJ17191438b

Yes its too high. Its such a shame that a car is considered a luxury item in this country!

Chemical Burn

one77 wrote: »

Hey guys,

I just joined this forum because I wanted to see how everyone else feels about the price of road tax. It's bad enough that we pay over €1 a litre on our fuel to bail out a bank without the added burden of annual motor tax.

I just taxed my 1.8 litre car (its 12 years old and worth about €1800) and it's now €660 a year just for the privilege of owing it.

So, how do you feel about paying huge chunks of your salary just to tax your old car, knowing that there are relatively new cars costing 40k paying only €160-225 for the same road??

Thanks!

[insert rant about gubbermint and fordiners that could and will result in a ban]

TLDR yes, /thread

zenno

zenno wrote: »

Lets face it, we are all lazy bastards. We can't even flobber to the shop of which is 1,000 feet away but have the need to drive there, (could be just me out of the population of Ireland)

But we are being screwed big-time, but there again we all just roll up in a fig roll and clam up when we need to fight this daylight robbery of monetary rape from all damn angles.

I see things... I see a bunch of people on a large scale being bent constantly until the friction eventually heats up to a point that snaps.

Unfortunately I need my car! Most of the time I'm happy with the train and the 40 minute walk from my house to the station but 2 days a week I must hit these amazing roads and go travelling with my line of work, I pay dearly for it!

Has anyone here been bored enough to calculate how much their car costs them in tax per mile?! The more miles you do the more value you get!

The high tax bracket has also crippled the used car market, especially the larger engines. OK, fair enough to say that you pay more for the luxury and the big engine but some of the guys with these cars can't afford to sell them as they lose far too much in depreciation! Catch 22!

Chemical Burn

Chemical Burn wrote: »

[insert rant about gubbermint and fordiners that could and will result in a ban]

TLDR yes, /thread

Very productive, thanks for the input...

knifey_spoonie

Has this not been done to death ill just sit here and watch"our roads are sh1t" "we pay to much tax " people turn up.

L1011

Confab wrote: »

Yes, that's why I'm considering going over to a classic car. Practically zero tax and you learn much more about how a car needs to be maintained.

When I did a check, it wasn't possible to get classic insurance from anyone on a permit, though.

Supergurrier

The alternative which is to just accept it and say.

"Shurre isn't it only right"

colm_mcm

JohnBoy26 wrote: »

A minimum of 400 is way too extreame. You couldn't be expected to pay that much for a supermini.

Why though? It's not as if a supermini is a bicycle.
€400 isn't mental money. €2000 is.

As it stands, the tax system is about as modern as the 17th century window tax

Supergurrier

Supergurrier wrote: »

The alternative which is to just accept it and say.

"Shurre isn't it only right"

It's definitely the easier option!:D

But when it's constantly on the increase and most of us can't afford to pay such ridiculous amounts! What's with us?! We just bend over and take it! The French on the other hand...

Supergurrier

You use the road there should be a bsse charge tbh and it should be milage based aswell as emissions/cc based.

The Pontiac

whippet wrote: »

I stopped reading here! Bank bail outs have nothing to do with Motor Tax ... The tax has been here since people had cars.

The latest motor tax-hike was exclusively made to increase government revenue to bail out the bond holders. Just like the property tax is going straight to the bond holders. In other countries, it's actually a property tax (believe it or not) and goes on things like street lights, bin charges etc. Our property tax used to be called excise duty, now we have both.

Motor tax is certainly not going on the roads anyway - our roads are a disgrace and downright dangerous.

Supergurrier

Supergurrier wrote: »

You use the road there should be a bsse charge tbh and it should be milage based aswell as emissions/cc based.

The simplest solution is to tax the fuel and drop the need to tax the car annually. Think of the amount of paper work it will save the councils each year!

Plus the Gardaí, it will free up a lot of their resources not having to stand out in the rain and check cars for tax

bobin fudge

I do think it is far too dear, but then again everyone knows when buying a car what the road tax will be for their particular engine size.

I drive less than maybe 1000miles a year so from my point of view id be more in favour of motor tax being reflected in the petrol like in sweden

colm_mcm

Supergurrier wrote: »

You use the road there should be a bsse charge tbh and it should be milage based aswell as emissions/cc based.

That's kinda what's happening now. You pay road tax then more tax on fuel.

Problem is, a lot of base charges are too low IMO.

zenno

knifey_spoonie wrote: »

Has this not been done to death ill just sit here and watch"our roads are sh1t" "we pay to much tax " people turn up.

I'll drive you myself to Dun drum insane asylum. I suppose it could be a nicer place than being exsanguinated drippingly from this sh1te we have to put up with.

The Pontiac

Confab wrote: »

Yes, that's why I'm considering going over to a classic car. Practically zero tax and you learn much more about how a car needs to be maintained.

What are you thinking of buying?

I think it must be 1983? What would be considered a good buy - taking into account, reliability, fuel consumption etc.

If I didn't do so much mileage I'd consider something of this era too. Some pretty cool cars made back then.

bobin fudge

The Pontiac wrote: »

What are you thinking of buying?

I think it must be 1983? What would be considered a good buy - taking into account, reliability, fuel consumption etc.

If I didn't do so much mileage I'd consider something of this era too. Some pretty cool cars made back then.

Id imagine whatever you thought you would be saving on tax by driving a 30 year old car will be spent and more just keeping the car in a condition to be on the road

Donnelly117

The price of tax for any car which is halfway exciting to drive is extortionate in this country. The hot hatch category has all but dried up since the 2008 tax changes. There used to be loads of Gti's and the like around before then the tax went crazy. Im in the market for an Astra OPC at the moment and im limited to buying a pre 07 model because the tax shot up to 1050 from 710 in 08 and I refuse to pay such high prices for it. Its absolutly ridicolous, the government wont be happy until everyone is driving around in a Prius or a small crappy diesel!! :mad:

alexmcred

I think people who buy new premium cars should get two or three years motor tax free as they pay a fortune in VRT and VAT when the purchase the vehicle.

The Pontiac

bobin fudge wrote: »

Id imagine whatever you thought you would be saving on tax by driving a 30 year old car will be spent and more just keeping the car in a condition to be on the road

I'm aware of that, but I'm thinking of buying a classic car anyway as a second car.

If I was in my old job (driving 2km to work) I might have went for classic as my everyday car. Great fun trying to keep em' running I'd imagine.

Kind of prefer cars of that era. Something like a merc, saab 900 or a MK1 Golf etc.

bobin fudge

As has been said before and not by me which makes alot of sense

If the government reduced the tax rate considerably, more people would probably tax their car for the whole year instead of for 3 months then not taxing it for 6 months and chancing it. likewise people who just dont tax their car at all and leave it off the road.
If the tax was reduced perhaps these people would tax their car more etc and this would increase the revenue from tax than what it currently is

JohnBoy26

colm_mcm wrote: »

Why though? It's not as if a supermini is a bicycle.
€400 isn't mental money. €2000 is.

As it stands, the tax system is about as modern as the 17th century window tax

For a yaris or a micra etc it is mental money imo. 2000 euros to tax any car is way beyond mental..it's insanity

bobin fudge

The Pontiac wrote: »

I'm aware of that, but I'm thinking of buying a classic car anyway as a second car.

If I was in my old job (driving 2km to work) I might have went for classic as my everyday car. Great fun trying to keep em' running I'd imagine.

Kind of prefer cars of that era. Something like a merc, saab 900 or a MK1 Golf etc.

yeah makes sense, I drive a 23 year old car at the moment as I only drive limited miles and agree older cars can still look impressive

knifey_spoonie

I suppose if you look at it logically you can figure out why we have a relatively high road tax. If you take it that Motor Tax goes into a county fund which is used to to pay to maintain/run each county including our road network

If you take one example of our nearest neighbour the uk,it has a road network of 5m per capita, lets take Irelands which is 22m per capita, so im sure we can all figure out the fact in order to have the infrastructure we do, each have to pay more tax in order to pay people to build/maintain the infrastructure.

We live on a small island and have a small population, of course we are going to have to pay more tax per person. While the system may be unfair in its extremes, by the country's very nature we will have to pay more tax, be it motor tax, income tax or any other tax.

Supergurrier

bobin fudge wrote: »

As has been said before and not by me which makes alot of sense

If the government reduced the tax rate considerably, more people would probably tax their car for the whole year instead of for 3 months then not taxing it for 6 months and chancing it. likewise people who just dont tax their car at all and leave it off the road.
If the tax was reduced perhaps these people would tax their car more etc and this would increase the revenue from tax than what it currently is

Someone who thinks logically, what a shocker