Vehicle registration tax (1)

I see from your front-page report (The Sunday Times, April 6) that the government is finally getting round to amending the vehicle registration tax, but is refusing to back date any amendment.

This discriminatory tax is extremely hard, especially on people like myself who brought a small car to Malta where I settled in late 2004. I had owned the vehicle for more than three years before moving here, and I drive it here still. The minimum tax is Lm1,500 with 18 per cent VAT (Lm270), regardless of the value or age of the vehicle, as this tax is solely based on engine capacity.

I feel very strongly that I, and people in a similar position, should get a refund. We should join forces to fight for a refund and threaten to take the case to the European Court if our case is ignored or refused.

I lived in the Netherlands in the late 1970's for six years as I took a second-hand car there. After six months, the plates had to be changed to Dutch ones and proof produced that the car had been owned for at least six months before taking up residence in Holland. The car was duly re-registered and local insurance taken out. There was no excessive tax to pay.

Malta operates a system that is little better than daylight robbery with its vehicle registration tax and its citizens pay too high a price to own a vehicle here. Cars are much cheaper elsewhere in Europe. Malta joined the European Union freely in 2004, and, the Nationalist Party was recently returned to government, so it is about time that it complies with European standards on this issue as well as quite a few other matters which concern Brussels.