Below is the next petition, which will kill VRT in its tracks. The figures prove that Ireland is in direct violation of EU law by overcharging, which creates a Customs Duty which is illegal under EU law. They can either reimburse every motorist who has brought in a car since 1993 for the overcharge (although Revenue can be protected so that they are only liable for the past five years) or take it on the chin that they have been acting illegally - either way, win-win for us :) It gets a bit technical, but youll get the jist of it... Information concerning the petition If the Committee on Petitions declares your petition admissible, do you agree to its being considered in public? YES Do you consent to your name being recorded on a public register, accessible through Internet? YES Title of your petition:Member state of Ireland in breach of Article 110 TFEU due Vehicle Registration Taxes acting in equal effect to a Customs duty. Content: I wish to ask the petitions committee for a reasoned opinion on whether Ireland is in breach of the Treaty in relation to free movement of goods in relation to how it calculates vehicle registration tax (VRT) on vehicles coming in to Ireland, which have already been registered in other EU states. While I appreciate that there have been numerous complaints made in relation to VRT, and that as a national tax, the Irish state is free to levy taxes as it sees fit as long as they are in harmony with EU law, this particular issue of how VRT is calculated in Ireland means that those who import vehicles from outside of Ireland pay more in tax compared to vehicles purchased in Ireland, and that this is a breach of Article 110. To quantify this, when a vehicle is examined by the Irish Revenue Commissioners, they place a valuation on that vehicle called the Open Market Selling Price (OMSP). The OMSP is an approximate price the vehicle would be worth in Ireland, and this valuation includes Vehicle Registration Tax. The problem is that the relevant tax band (emissions-based) is then applied to the vehicle, which has VRT calculated within the valuation already. My argument is that by not removing the VRT element before calculating the VRT owed, it creates an increased cost of importation. The example below will show how this constitutes an overcharging of the tax: Current system: Vehicle OMSP - €10,000 Emissions calculated between 156 – 170g CO2/km therefore VRT of 27% of OMSP applies VRT @27% of OMSP - €2700 If calculated correctly: Vehicle OMSP - €10,000 Remove VRT from valuation - €7874 Reapply VRT @27% of revised OMSP – €2126 Difference - Overcharge of €574 When an Irish citizen buys a vehicle in Ireland, that originated in Ireland from new, they are purchasing a vehicle which holds on to a residual amount of VRT, equivalent to the calculation above. However, when purchasing from outside of Ireland, they pay more to import such a vehicle. Article 110 of the TFEU provides that No Member State shall impose, directly or indirectly, on the products of other member states any internal taxation of any kind in excess of that imposed directly or indirectly on similar domestic products. Furthermore, no Member State shall impose on the products of other member states any internal taxation of such a nature as to afford indirect protection to other products. I would like to put it to the PETI committee, that by operating Vehicle Registration Tax in this manner, that Ireland is in direct violation of Aticle 110 TFEU, and I would like the PETI to offer a reasoned opinion on the matter.
Posted on: Thu, 18 Sep 2014 18:11:45 +0000
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