I refer to the letter by Alfred Farrugia on behalf of Malta Automobile Club entitled ‘Malta has the highest vehicle tax rate in the EU’ (The Sunday Times of Malta, January 3).

Farrugia mentioned the recently published EU statistics on taxation ‘Taxation trends in the European Union – Data for the EU Member States, Iceland and Norway’, which I had flipped through a few days before. thought I might have missed something about the tax scenario in Malta.

The call for a reduction of vehicle taxation in Malta is misguided and downright dangerous. First of all, when discussing taxation one must look at the total tax burden. The reality is that tax revenue in Malta, including national insurance, is 33.6 per cent of GDP, with a long list of 17 other EU countries with a higher tax burden. Focusing on 3.49 per cent of the total tax revenues coming from taxes on vehicles from cars just reflects one simple thing: the high rate of car ownership in Malta.

What Farrugia fails to mention is that in the countries he mentioned the share of taxes coming from cars probably comes from the lower rate of car ownership and not on the actual rates paid individually.

It is also pertinent to point out that residents in other countries have annual taxes on property, pay annual service fees to their local councils for services such as refuse collection, childcare and even fees to occupy on street parking spaces, not to mention higher indirect taxes.

Being a driver does not mean agreeing with Farrugia. The impact of traffic in a country with the highest number of cars in the world is huge: huge pressure on the infrastructure, limited space in our towns for people, too many parked cars, heavy traffic, serious effects on our health and unbreathable air in heavily congested areas.

Less tax on vehicles means less money for our national health service, public transport systems, schools, pavements and pedestrian areas and gardens. Good public services are essential, or maybe some people want Malta to end up like the US – where for most people except the very rich getting seriously sick or losing your job means becoming destitute.

By all means let us discuss what is fair taxation and what isn’t, but let us all keep in mind that good public services need sustainable income.