Customs called round last night

Farls

Just a warning to anyone living in the republic driving northern or english reg cars. Theres a big clamp down on this at the moment seemingly especially up in Donegal. I had a visit last night from a customs and excise officer at around 10pm.

I drive a northern focus, now i have a northern address and its taxed and insured there and all but this isn't enough (i already knew before he called round i've been dodging VRT for the past 9 months) anyway i don't see the point in bringing the car in because a) i haven't the money at the moment and b) i'm going to be living in the north in 2 months time anyway.

Short and the long of it is i've been given 7 days to bring the car in and after that it will be seized or so he told me. So just a warning to you all out there, i wasn't the only one done my whole estate was. I thought i was bad but my mate has an Evo VII which costs over 11 grand to bring in!

I've now left the car at my address in the north so it can't be lifted and its going to be sold whilst i buy some old run about to do me for the next 2 months.

I was talking to a man on the inside today and he told me that theres a big clamp down at the moment so watch out, the customs are about!

Farlz

unkel

Farls wrote:

Theres a big clamp down on this at the moment

Good. I'm sick and tired of paying other people's taxes as well as my own

Thumper Long

unkel wrote:

Good. I'm sick and tired of paying other people's taxes as well as my own

VRT is an absolute rip off in this country, its ridiculous when you see how cheap you can buy a car for up the north, its a complete farse that the irish government were allowed impose vrt, on cars coming from the eu. hard luck farls, thanks be to jaysus people like unkel (polition in disguise) are not running the world, so unkel you just worry about your own taxes and not anybody elses or we'll have to see if your bertie ahern in disguise LOL

CrowdedHouse

unkel wrote:

Good. I'm sick and tired of paying other people's taxes as well as my own

Me too

Farls

unkel and crowded house, i honestly don't think your paying my taxes, or anyone elses.

Thumper i'm with your view on this. Seeminly the state pays a fine every year because charging VRT in the EU is illegal, the reason they do this is because they make more money on VRT than the fine costs them.

It really is a joke.

Farls

Ratchet

unkel wrote:

Good. I'm sick and tired of paying other people's taxes as well as my own

what tax?

Thumper Long

if we could convince people not to buy new cars, and hold on to their current car or buy secondhand for the next few years, that would hurt them big time, i refuse to buy a brand new car, i worked in the motor industry and when you see how much the government gets from each new car between, vat and vrt never mind what they make off petrol, it would make you sick. if i could get away with registering a car up north and getting insured through the north id give it a go, :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad:

lomb

Farls wrote:

Just a warning to anyone living in the republic driving northern or english reg cars. Theres a big clamp down on this at the moment seemingly especially up in Donegal. I had a visit last night from a customs and excise officer at around 10pm.

I drive a northern focus, now i have a northern address and its taxed and insured there and all but this isn't enough (i already knew before he called round i've been dodging VRT for the past 9 months) anyway i don't see the point in bringing the car in because a) i haven't the money at the moment and b) i'm going to be living in the north in 2 months time anyway.

Short and the long of it is i've been given 7 days to bring the car in and after that it will be seized or so he told me. So just a warning to you all out there, i wasn't the only one done my whole estate was. I thought i was bad but my mate has an Evo VII which costs over 11 grand to bring in!

I've now left the car at my address in the north so it can't be lifted and its going to be sold whilst i buy some old run about to do me for the next 2 months.

I was talking to a man on the inside today and he told me that theres a big clamp down at the moment so watch out, the customs are about!

Farlz

do u have a uk driving license?

mike65

Farls wrote:

Just a warning to anyone living in the republic driving northern or english reg cars.

Kinda says it all really. If you live in this Republic and import a vehicle then its your due and duty to pay up like it or not! I'm as agin VRT as the next man trust me, but until the law changes its to be paid.

Thumper Long I too have mused about ppl hanging on to thier cars for an extra year to two and so killing off VRT as the revenue stream dries up but we'd have to convince all those with more cheap credit access than sense - and company car types...though the financial controller of said companies would proberly be happy enough.

Mike.

CrowdedHouse

mike65 wrote:

Kinda says it all really. If you live in this Republic and import a vehicle then its your due and duty to pay up like it or not! I'm as agin VRT as the next man trust me, but until the law changes its to be paid

If there's less money going into the kitty because of tax evasion the rest of us are going to have to make up the shortfall.

Right now I'm looking at a little coloured disc that I got in the post today which cost me €511 I dont enjoy paying that but if I want to use my car on the road it has to be on the windscreen.

Farls

mike65, you say if you live here and import a vehicle...the problem being that i like most people don't want to import the vehicle.

As for the price of road tax down here, my car is a 1.6 and its exactly half the price in the north as it is in the south.

Insurance too is a hell of a lot cheaper.

And also just about the point on new cars, i was looking at a new focus there and they cost just over 16 thousand VAT + VRT free, when you add the VAT + VRT on it comes to over 24 thousand, thats over 8 thousand euro on government taxes etc...

My advice to anyone that wants to buy a good car, say a car that will cost over 5 thousand to clear is too rent a complete dive in the north, you'll have your address then and all your bills and can ultimately live there, rent will also be cheaper for a year than bringing the car in.

Farlz

impr0v

It's about time they started clamping down on this, there are too many people doing it.

Farls

lomb - i don't have a UK driving licence, have to wait another month till i fullfill the criteria for getting one

Farlz

kdevitt

Left if 5 months to VRT my car - managed to save about 2 grand, would leave it longer next time... the tax has been declared illegal by the EU, bunch of cowboys over here still get away with charging it...

It's about time they started clamping down on this, there are too many people doing it.

Why?? Do yellow reg plates insult your taste or something? it doesn't effect you in the least bit...

seamus

kdevitt wrote:

Why?? Do yellow reg plates insult your taste or something? it doesn't effect you in the least bit...

It's the yellow reg's driving around with flagrant disregard for the law, and therefore other road users, that's annoying us most in the capital. Not saying you do it, but there's a general anti-yellow-reg sentiment in most of the country because the vast majority of them drive like tossers.

I do gather that it's not really the same in Ulster or border counties though because many non-chancers there drive NI regged cars.

kdevitt

seamus wrote:

It's the yellow reg's driving around with flagrant disregard for the law, and therefore other road users, that's annoying us most in the capital. Not saying you do it, but there's a general anti-yellow-reg sentiment in most of the country because the vast majority of them drive like tossers.

I do gather that it's not really the same in Ulster or border counties though because many non-chancers drive NI regged cars.

Ah, I understand now... my mistake

You pay the VRT to improve your driving standard... all clear now, thanks

Farls

kdevitt wrote:

Ah, I understand now... my mistake

You pay the VRT to improve your driving standard... all clear now, thanks

Strongly agree here again. To declare that its yellow regs that drive like tossers in the city is just a stereotype.

seamus

You pay the VRT to improve your driving standard... all clear now, thanks

You've completely missed what I've said, and gone defensive for no reason at all.

Farls wrote:

Strongly agree here again. To declare that its yellow regs that drive like tossers in the city is just a stereotype.

Yep. It's not unjustified though. Not in Dublin anyway.

Ratchet

impr0v wrote:

It's about time they started clamping down on this, there are too many people doing it.

they should do more LV plates and other long term tourists too:)

Farls

not too sure what Ratchet is on about there

Seamus, i understand what your saying and their probably are lots of yellow reg's that think their above the rule of law but no more than southern plates.

The big thing is probably the speeding i'd say though, same as if your driving a free state car in the north...speeding tickets are a thing of the past.

Farlz

Thumper Long

farls what are the criteria for a northern driving licence and if you have a northern address , northern insurance and tax, does that make it perfectly legal to drive the car down here. cos if so i may give it a go i can get the use of an address in warrenpoint, might save me a few quid on a beemer i have my eye on .

Ratchet

Farls wrote:

not too sure what Ratchet is on about there

Farlz

just saying that UK reg cars are very easy target for customs opposite to LV reg cars or other long time holiday makers. Everybody should be included in the clamp down. I know 3 people with NI reg cars which had to pay duty and where stopped at the same time with other LV guys which also do work on the same site but they still drive the cars as nothing happened. Looks like only Garda can do them for no tax but they have to proof that car was here for more then 6months. it is weird setup.

know for fact that customs can't take the car which doesn't belong to the driver.

Farls

Ratchet wrote:

know for fact that customs can't take the car which doesn't belong to the driver.

Interesting fact, i could transfer the ownership of the car into my sisters name, she lives in the north...hmmm

I get ya now, and very good point.

As for the licence you need to have car taxed and insured in the north, also you need evidence you have lived at the address for over 6 months, ie. bank statements, utility bills etc.

If you call into a tax office in the north they'll tell ya all, its easier too if you have an irish passport seemingly, you won't have to get a police man/guarda to verify your of sound person.

It's probably on the net somewhere about it anyway. I think its the way forward...

Farlz

Hotblack Desiato

kdevitt wrote:

the tax has been declared illegal by the EU, bunch of cowboys over here still get away with charging it...

No, it hasn't. If you want it changed, vote in a different bunch of cowboys.

Plenty of people have plenty of money to throw away on new cars that will be worth a fraction of their value in a couple of years. Paying thousands in VRT isn't putting them off a bit. The Government would have to be mad to abolish it, and if they did, other taxes would have to rise substantially.

Why?? Do yellow reg plates insult your taste or something? it doesn't effect you in the least bit...

Why is dodging taxes seen as OK while dodging insurance is not?
In both cases everyone else has to pay their share.
It just doesn't get more selfish than that.

If someone can't afford (or simply chooses not to bother) to insure their car or bike, they shouldn't be on the road. If they can't afford / don't bother to VRT or road tax it, they shouldn't be either.

Ratchet

ninja900 wrote:

Why is dodging taxes seen as OK while dodging insurance is not?
In both cases everyone else has to pay their share.
It just doesn't get more selfish than that.

If someone can't afford (or simply chooses not to bother) to insure their car or bike, they shouldn't be on the road. If they can't afford / don't bother to VRT or road tax it, they shouldn't be either.

All the guys i know have insurance in NI and they are covered to drive here. The only thing they do not pay is road tax

afford it? that's one thing but o paying some mad price for the insurance definitely NO and if I would have chance to insure myself somewhere else for 1/3 of the price and be still covered over here

I wouldn't think twice

Hotblack Desiato

Ratchet wrote:

All the guys i know have insurance in NI and they are covered to drive here.

They have a piece of paper that says they're covered, but when it really comes down to it, are they?

If you (or I, figure of speech) get a quote with a UK address then that quote is conditional on the fact that you actually are resident in the UK and not in the Republic. If the insurers knew the truth they would either quote you a lot more, or not at all - most policies only allow 30 days driving in another EU country, per year.

So you can guarantee the insurer will be less than impressed if you have a claim and there is any reason (e.g. your workplace, where the accident occurred, etc.) to suspect that you were actually living in the Republic. Insurers will not hesitate to refuse a claim when they can prove you broke the contract of insurance.

Anyway, like any other insurance dodge, the more people that do it the more every honest punter has to pay. My pet hate is the 'living in Dublin but pretending I'm still with the mammy in the country' scam. They get caught rapid when applying for residents' parking permits though :rolleyes:

Ratchet

ninja900 wrote:

........... most policies only allow 30 days driving in another EU country, per year.

...............:

cut the crap , most but not all

even in Ireland you can drive for more then 30 days but you have to pay.

Anyway, I know good few countries where the same companies e.g. Alianz do cover cars which could be driven abroad for period of full year. Gets even better as some even do contract insurance which works the other way e.g. I go to other country with Irish regd car and drive there insured for period of my working contract on Irish plates but this will not happened here.

i had to sell my lovely CRX as was not going to pay insurance of 3500 punts which went all the way up from 1200 for no real reason in period of 2years. so don't tell me about affordable as this was plain rip off.

And you wonder how people drive without insurance? Unfortunately, there is simple calculation for some

3500 insurance = maybe 1000 euro fine.

Wouldn’t be better to see 1000 euro for insurance = 3000 fine . ??

it will not stop it completely but number would be minimum

unkel

Farls wrote:

unkel and crowded house, i honestly don't think your paying my taxes, or anyone elses.

Thumper i'm with your view on this. Seeminly the state pays a fine every year because charging VRT in the EU is illegal

Yes we are

You should be paying road tax in this country and you are not. I've just forked out €1343 in road tax for the year for you and for me :mad:

The state does NOT pay a fine every year and the Irish VRT scam is NOT illegal, unfortunately - search the boards for my previous explanation

Don't get me wrong - VRT should not exist!!!

shagman

I drive 2 vehicles and pay €1150 insurance and €120 tax combined , all legal no dodgy dealing. One is a campervan (5.7Ltr V8 LPG) the other is a classic (3Ltr V6 petrol). Both qualify for cheap tax + insurance.
Insurance would be further reduced by the running of a small run around (1.xLtr $h1tbox ) if you were so inclined ....not for me thanks.
Lots of driving fun, minimum governmental reaming.

Ratchet

unkel wrote:

Yes we are

You should be paying road tax in this country and you are not. I've just forked out €1343 in road tax for the year for you and for me :mad:

The state does NOT pay a fine every year and the Irish VRT scam is NOT illegal, unfortunately - search the boards for my previous explanation

Don't get me wrong - VRT should not exist!!!

if the tax was in petrol you will have nothing to moan about

lomb

unkel wrote:

Yes we are

You should be paying road tax in this country and you are not. I've just forked out €1343 in road tax for the year for you and for me :mad:

The state does NOT pay a fine every year and the Irish VRT scam is NOT illegal, unfortunately - search the boards for my previous explanation

Don't get me wrong - VRT should not exist!!!

thing is unkel, its irrelevent that u paid 1343. if u dint pay 1343 and instead paid 300 ur car would have cost u twice what u paid for it possibly and ur depreciation would be double. so what are u complaining about?

Dades

lomb wrote:

thing is unkel, its irrelevent that u paid 1343. if u dint pay 1343 and instead paid 300 ur car would have cost u twice what u paid for it possibly and ur depreciation would be double. so what are u complaining about?

What are trying to say??

It's one thing dodging tax and getting away with it - it's another thing complaining about it when you get caught.

You can't expect sympathy in that situation from others who've paid all along.

Boggle

No, it hasn't. If you want it changed, vote in a different bunch of cowboys.

Plenty of people have plenty of money to throw away on new cars that will be worth a fraction of their value in a couple of years. Paying thousands in VRT isn't putting them off a bit. The Government would have to be mad to abolish it, and if they did, other taxes would have to rise substantially.

It might not bother other people (as you contend) - but it certainly prices me out of getting a new car at the minute... The tax is a joke, specifically aimed at discounting the free market principles intended by the EU. The govt dont want to remove it as it is a nice cash cow an dto be honest I resent being treated as a cash cow. As such, if there was a way around paying it then I'd take it and if the original poster is doing that then fair play to him... He can use his convictions as a grounds for defence if he has the courage to do so in court (if he wins he could save us all money)- if not just pay the fine and move on (worth a try)...

Amazing how the holier than thou brigade love to jump on people in this forum.

lomb

Boggle wrote:

Amazing how the holier than thou brigade love to jump on people in this forum.

yep there was one guy here saying it was dangerous to do 54 in a 50 ,and yet in another post he reakoned the normal s600 6litre v12 mercedes was to slow and instead wanted a 5.5 bi turbo version LOL.

Anyway as someone who has gone to the uk and back regularly vrt is nonsense. if this is the freemarket then capital, labour, and enterprise should travel unhindered between economies. yet if i was to drive my uk car which i paid the taxes on in this country on an irish license i would be done, ffs.

EDIT: i dont disagree with different road taxes as such, or differing petrol duties as its horses for courses here. ie unkel was objecting to paying 1400 on a 3.5 litre car. what he doesnt realise is that car is far cheaper because of the mental effect on people in this country that they dont want to pay it so it depresses the used values which is rather good if u ask me. also if a 735i was driven in the uk on uk petrol prises that are 25% higher than here then one would pay an extra 700-800 euro in fuel duty there, so its irrelevent imo that road tax on high capacity engines here is dear.

i disagree strongly with vrt as the cops seem to think they have a god given right to accost people driving a car from a different eu country here when its the free market, so economies in theory should compete to allow people to reg cars wherever they want. just like ships are registered in the bahamas because of low/no taxation on boats.

528i

Take that S600 for instance @ €204,000 new, why shouldn't mr.law abiding citizen report his next door neighbour for illegally acquiring the same car (on northern plates) for less than half the price. It's tantamount to fraud and not only should these cars be impounded, but the criminals prosecuted under the illegal smuggling act 1962 with fixed jail terms as a deterrent towards others intending to flout the law and screw 'the system' and every decent taxpayer with it.

Capt'n Midnight

Ratchet wrote:

3500 insurance = maybe 1000 euro fine.

defo belive that any fine that is less than the amount you save is a complete waste of time. It should be several multiples of the premium at least !

Boggle

Take that S600 for instance @ €204,000 new, why shouldn't mr.law abiding citizen report his next door neighbour for illegally acquiring the same car (on northern plates) for less than half the price. It's tantamount to fraud and not only should these cars be impounded, but the criminals prosecuted under the illegal smuggling act 1962 with fixed jail terms as a deterrent towards others intending to flout the law and screw 'the system' and every decent taxpayer with it.

Why would you begrudge your neighbour a good deal? Sounds like pettyness to me...
As far as mr neighbour was concerned, the car may have been bought insidee the free market and perhaps he feels that it is contrary to these ideals to have to pay an exorbitant "Registration" tax.

There is no way around the fact that this was a made up tax designed to stifle competition from abroad.

lomb

Boggle wrote:

Why would you begrudge your neighbour a good deal? Sounds like pettyness to me...
.

it is pettyness. no one wants their neighbour to get ahead of them. its all bull**** anyway as this is an unfair world. as i say restriction of free movements of capital and that includes cars within the eu is contrary to guiding principles. its as simple as that.
u cant have it both ways and want europe and the euro and then say fcuk u, u cant drive ur uk car in this country. it wasnt long ago that ireland was the uk lol.

themole

vrt does see like rip off when compared to over the boarder.

but, as mentioned before, if it was abolished the money would have to come from somewhere else. most likely in higher fuel price and road tax. if fuel prices were increased people would just drive across the border and buy their petrol there, so vrt is here to stay, until a better solution is found.

the reason for lower post tax car prices in the north is due to the higher population density of the UK. the more dense areas of the UK are effectively subsedising the rest of the UK, northern ireland included. thats what happens when you are part of a large fairly densely populated country.

lomb

themole wrote:

but, as mentioned before, if it was abolished the money would have to come from somewhere else. most likely in higher fuel price and road tax. if fuel prices were increased people would just drive across the border and buy their petrol

well thats no problem because fuel is 25% dearer in the uk, so i say up the cost of petrol and get rid of the vrt.

528i

Lets put it another way, whats the government's tax take on say a typical new build apartment worth approx €204,000 (rough area of north dublin) when everything materials, labour, capital gains etc. is taken into account, I'd guess about the same as vrt. So would it be 'pettiness' on behalf of an occupier if another purchaser were to evade by means of fraud or otherwise his obligations with regard to tax on the property ?

If you've got a problem with the principle of VRT (or PRSI, VAT etc.), then take it up with the EU Commissioner \ European Court of Justice and stop voting in the same muppets into government every election, until then its a tax, you must pay it - end of story.

Ps. fuel prices are MUCH lower here (20%?) than in the Uk so there alot of scope for additional taxes there... add that to VRT and you're looking at maybe €2billion per annum for some much needed infrastructure and road improvements etc.

Boggle

but, as mentioned before, if it was abolished the money would have to come from somewhere else. most likely in higher fuel price and road tax.

So be it. At least then everyone would pay their fair share and anyone who wants to buy a new car wouldn't be unfairly brudened. There is already a tax on cars you know....

lomb

528i wrote:

Lets put it another way, whats the government's tax take on say a typical new build apartment worth approx €204,000 (rough area of north dublin) when everything materials, labour, capital gains etc. is taken into account, I'd guess about the same as vrt. So would it be 'pettiness' on behalf of an occupier if another purchaser were to evade by means of fraud or otherwise his obligations with regard to tax on the property ?

.

Its not fraud if u are driving an eu car in europe. thats the bottom line. governments should compete for where cars are registered.
and it is petty to begrudge your neighbour, this is an unfair world. so if i pull up tomorrow in a uk ferrari and u begrudge me i couldnt give a monkeys about that. one of these days ireland will have to abolish vrt and probably jack up fuel costs to that of the rest of europe.
what the government is doing is to let busines beartificially be more competitive than europe and the uk by lowering energy costs below that of its competitors and compensating this loss by cranking vrt oo new private cars.

528i

If you're living and working in the republic while driving a northern (or any EU) registered car, then its illegal. You must conform to all Irish state tax regulations and requirements, not ones that can be pulled at random from other EU countries when it suits. Go live and work in the other EU country if you must avoid VRT altogether, and become penalised in many other ways so you can never afford this theoretical ferrari in the first place, problem solved

themole

ok.

some figure.
from this link: http://www.finfacts.com/biz10/irelandtaxproportionretailprice.htm
2003 prices, but not much has changed.

it would appear that the revenue from vrt is about the same as from petrol. the tax for petrol is 62% of selling price.

so, if petrol is say €1, of which 62cent is tax, to double tax revenue would require price of petrol to be €1 + 62, = €1.62/litre.

a substantial increase.

a lot more than the current northern ireland price, of €1.17 : http://www.aaireland.ie/petrolprices/


VRT debate info:
http://www.finance.gov.ie/viewdoc.asp?DocID=1061&CatID=18&StartDate=01+January+2002&m=


if my sources and false please tell me.

impr0v

lomb wrote:

Its not fraud if u are driving an eu car in europe. thats the bottom line.

It's not the bottom line, it's what you think the bottom line should be. And contrary to one of your other posts it's not pettiness, or begrudgery which makes some of us object to those evading tax by driving UK reg cars. If you knew your neighbour was evading all his income tax while you paid yours at 42% would you still say fair play to him, or roll out some tired useless arguments against income tax? He's not pulling a fast one on the government, he's pulling a fast one on you.

I dislike VRT, but I dislike more that I pay it while others don't. Unfortunately you don't get to pick and choose the taxes you want to pay, and ignore those ones you disagree with. If you're a citizen of this country the law says you pay your taxes along with every other citizen. Either we all pay VRT or we all get away with it.

lomb

impr0v wrote:

. Either we all pay VRT or we all get away with it.

u see thats where most people fall down in this world. they actually think the world is fair which it is not. i shall give u several examples of this.

lawyers in the usa who act as public defenders to defend poor people get 20 dollars an hour even if they are defending a person who could get the death sentence.
On the other hand OJs lawyers were get about 1000+dollars an hour for the same work. there are numerous more examples of this 'unfairness.' a dentist in the UK who carries on the NHS would make 1/4 of the hourly rate of a 'private' dentist for the same work and i can assure u the private dentist is ripping no one off. its an unfair world accept it and move on.

Farls

Didn't mean to start a war here! :eek:

Anyway i still think its ridiculous to think your paying my tax just cuz i drive a northern car. By the way i pay my roadtax etc. in the north where i do most of my driving.

I would like to see VRT abolished but then a hike in petrol costs? I know the tax has to come from somewhere but i'm sure theres lots of different areas that it could come from.

I just read the other day that Bertie Ahern's daughter has never paid a penny in tax in her life because she's a writer, first i ever heard off that tax dodge :rolleyes:

Improv if your so annoyed at paying that amount of tax then buy a smaller car, i'll forward you on whatever fraction of a cent that you think i owe you though

Farlz

green-blood

so let me get this right, you tried to evade the system, you knew you were doing it and you got caught.... tough titty.

we've a chap in the job, american born, hmm, has monaghan roots, family own a farm, sinn fein, hmmm activist, has his 94 golf diesel on northern plates for 3 years now, and wont pay for it to be registered, but dont get him started on politics.... interesting he doesn't mind being a Brit when it suits him...pathetic

only thing worse than culchies is nordie culchies :-)

Farls

green-blood wrote:

so let me get this right, you tried to evade the system, you knew you were doing it and you got caught.... tough titty.

we've a chap in the job, american born, hmm, has monaghan roots, family own a farm, sinn fein, hmmm activist, has his 94 golf diesel on northern plates for 3 years now, and wont pay for it to be registered, but dont get him started on politics.... interesting he doesn't mind being a Brit when it suits him...pathetic

only thing worse than culchies is nordie culchies :-)

I put this thread up to warn other people, not to take a slagging. If you have nothing good to add then get back up on your high horse and **** off

Farlz

themole

Farls wrote:

I put this thread up to warn other people, not to take a slagging. If you have nothing good to add then get back up on your high horse and **** off

Farlz

you mean to warn others who are evading tax and commiting fraud?