Vehicle taxation in Malta as a percentage of total taxation is the highest in the European Union, according to ‘Taxation Trends in the European Union – Data for the EU Member States, Iceland and Norway’.
What is even worse is that in 2015, the percentage increased to 3.7 per cent from 3.4 per cent in 2014, reversing the trend that had been going on over several years.
Why are Maltese car owners and drivers burdened with vehicle taxation which is disproportionately higher than what other EU citizens pay?
In Estonia and Lithuania, car owners pay only 0.2 per cent in vehicle taxation, while in the UK they pay 1.8 per cent, which is half as much as we pay in Malta.
Is this what is meant by Malta being the best in the EU? When it comes to vehicle taxation, Malta is the worst in the EU, and the authorities are aware of this. The polluter pays principle is fair, but here in Malta this principle is applied in a flawed manner. Vehicle registration tax and the annual circulation licence tax are higher for larger vehicles than for smaller ones, independently of the number of kilometres driven during the year.
Which vehicle pollutes more? A small vehicle that is driven practically all day long, seven days a week, or a slightly larger one driven for a couple of hours on the weekend, and one or two short errands during the week?
Have Transport Malta or the National Statistics Office ever conducted a study to find out how many kilometres pensioners drive during the week, month or year?
The major part of air pollution in Malta is not caused by small passenger cars, but by commercial vehicles, mini-vans, large trucks, water and petrol bowsers, cement mixers, buses and coaches. But the authorities seem to be afraid to take any measures to address the air pollution caused by these large vehicles.
Congestion on our roads is largely the result of lack of investment on road construction and improvements over the years. The electoral promise of rebuilding our roads over the next seven years is a step in the right direction. This should have started years ago.
Between 2013 and this year, the government collected €528.6 million in vehicle taxation, but it spent only €56.3 million in road construction and improvements. So what did the government do with the balance of €472.3 million? Is it not obvious why we have traffic congestion?
Given the surplus that the government is boasting about, and the additional revenue collected from the Individual Investment Programme, now is the time for the government to start relieving car owners and drivers of the heavy burden of vehicle taxation. The Malta Automobile Club has launched a petition to reduce vehicle taxation, and more than 1,000 people have supported it. This is more than any pre-Budget consultation meeting convened by the government. As more people get to know about the petition, more signatures will be collected.
The online petition can be found at https://www.change.org/p/hon-dr-ian-borg-reduce-vehicle-taxation .