€4,000 drop in commercial motor tax comes into effect today – Donohoe

1st January, 2016

The Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, and Fine Gael TD for Dublin Central, Paschal Donohoe, has said that changes to commercial motor tax which mean a saving in some cases of over €4,000 will make a major difference for road hauliers across the country.

 

“Budget 2016 announced that the number of rates of commercial motor tax will be reduced from 20 to 5 and will now range in cost from €90 to €900 per year, down from a maximum cost of €5,195. These changes come into effect from today and will save many hauliers over €4,000 per year.

 

“Transportation costs are a major issue for every business in Ireland; big and small. To keep Ireland competitive and to help businesses, Budget 2016 significantly reduced commercial motor tax rates. These changes will benefit over 28,500 commercial vehicles.

 

“Irish hauliers compete with businesses in Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK where motor tax up until now has been much lower. This has caused increased costs across the economy and in some cases has driven businesses to register in Northern Ireland.

 

“This change is extremely important for Irish hauliers, particularly those in border areas. These measures

will lower the costs of goods and services, and will provide a huge boost to local economies.

 

“This is an interim measure pending the replacement of the current commercial motor tax regime with a fairer basis for calculating commercial motor tax.

 

“In recent years many businesses have gone through a very difficult time and travel costs have been raised by business owners as a real issue. Fine Gael has a plan to keep the recovery going and a key part of this plan is to support businesses who are operating in Ireland and creating jobs.

 

“The top priority this year is to keep the recovery going in all parts of the country, while providing relief and better services. Many businesses rely on transport to provide a service and I am confident that changes to commercial motor tax will be very much welcomed.”
ENDS