Vehicle registration regime

Reference is made to the letters by Philip Anthony Hagan and Allan Purves and the alleged discrimination against foreigners or persons registering vehicles that had been previously registered in any other country.

The revision of the vehicle registration taxation regime (M1), introduced in January 2008, paved the way for the importation of vehicles that are less polluting it incentivised those vehicles which are generally smaller and newer.

When looking at the differences between the older system and the new one, one has to keep in mind that, while the government needed to create a system to safeguard its environmental obligations, it also had a social obligation towards those persons who had already registered their vehicles under the older tax regime. The two charts mentioned by Mr Purves reflect the two different tax regimes. What has not been mentioned in the letters is that, in general, under the old tax regime, the registration tax was much higher than what is now being paid under the new system on the same model of vehicle. Obviously, the same levels of fees cannot be applied to those vehicles which had already been registered and taxed before the introduction of the new legislative parameters.

Contrary to what has been stated in the letters, during the first year since the new legislative framework has been in place, it has been proven that, besides the fact that newer vehicles are being put on the Maltese market, those purchasing second-hand vehicles are now opting to buy newer vehicles, which are smaller and less polluting.

Both Mr Hagan and Mr Purves have been misguided; there is absolutely no discrimination because, under the new system, anyone who purchases a vehicle from Malta or within any other EU member state will be charged exactly the same registration tax and pay the same amount of annual circulation licence fee.

In line with our obligations not only to safeguard the local environment but also that of the EU, of which we are members, the system also allows to disincentivise the purchase of older, more polluting vehicles.

Comparing different legislative environments without including and putting everything into perspective gives a much different scenario.