Refunds of 2008 registration tax in the post

Some 740 people who bought a car in 2008 and opted for the new vehicle registration system are this week receiving refunds of the registration tax due to them, Finance Minister Tonio Fenech said in Parliament.

The refunds total about €1 million.

He explained that during 2008, when the changeover to the new  registration system was being prepared, new vehicle owners were given the choice of paying registration either according to the old or the new one. Those who opted for the new system saved tax. At the time the government had decided to refund them through credits to their road licence over a number of years.

Those owners who bought small cars which pollute the least benefited most, but since the refund through credits was to take a number of years, it was recently decided that their outstanding balance as of July 1, 2011 would be paid back immediately.

The cheques to these vehicle owners were mailed this week, the minister said.