CAR BUYERS HAVE contributed €900 million to the government’s coffers this year to get their vehicles on the road for the first time.
And the figure is set to top €1 billion before 2014 is done with new car sales up nearly 30% over the first nine months of the year when compared to 2013 figures.
Some 93,176 new cars were registered during the period after nearly 20,000 cars hit the road in June alone, while 41,134 imported used cars were also licensed for the first time.
The figures come from a review from the Society of the Irish Motor Industry (SIMI), which said the total tax receipts for the registration of new and used cars was over €900 million so far this year.
That figure was up nearly 28% on the same time last year and about 58% of the total came from Vehicle Registration Tax (VRT), with the balance going to the exchequer in VAT receipts.
The latest numbers are still way off the sales activity peaks from the 2000s, although they have been trending consistently upwards over the last three years.
Taxes left alone for 2015
Motoring and fuel taxes were left alone in last week’s Budget for the first time in several years after car buyers were hit with a VRT increase in 2013.
The review said the average cost of buying a new car had gone down 2.8% since last September and both petrol and diesel prices had also dropped, although overall car taxes had been steadily climbing since 2005.
SIMI has been forecasting “steady recovery” in the sector with extra jobs on the way as sales went up.
Director-General Alan Nolan said the decision not to lift any motoring-related taxes in the Budget had laid the foundations for steady growth.
“The better business environment in the sector this year has resulted directly from the improved consumer confidence and we would be very hopeful that the market will continue to grow in response to the more positive outlook for consumers in the wake of the Budget,” he said.
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