Car owners and drivers who pay a very high vehicle registration tax or high annual circulation licence fee (tax) have no incentive to leave their car in the garage. On the contrary, it makes sense for them to make full and optimum use of their car to get back the value of the high tax they are paying.

Vehicle taxation as a percentage of total taxation in Malta is the highest in the EU, according to the latest Eurostat figures. In these circumstances traffic congestion is not likely to be eased.

There is, however, a measure that could contribute to reducing traffic congestion, particularly during rush hours. Young sports car drivers, pensioners and other categories of drivers who might not need to use their car every day might be encouraged to drive their car for less than 2,500 kilometres a year if their annual circulation licence fee were reduced.

These cars could be driven on weekends and holidays only and the owners may be requested to submit their vehicle for an annual VRT to check that the mileage has not been exceeded.

The annual circulation licence fees in Malta are extremely high in some cases. A car that used to be charged $128, or €118, every two years in the US was charged €762 per year in Malta. The current system of paying vehicle registration tax and annual circulation licence fees based on CO2 emissions is flawed.

A medium-sized car with higher emissions than a smaller car with lower emissions could be driven much less frequently during the year than the small car. So which car is really causing the higher pollution?

The Malta Automobile Club has submitting a proposal to the authorities to consider the possibility of charging reduced annual circulation licence fees to car owners whose vehicles cover less than 2,500 kilometres a year.