Budget 2016 reduces commercial motor tax by over €4,000 – O’Mahony

Fine Gael TD and Chairperson of the Oireachtas Committee on Transport and Communications, John O’Mahony has welcomed changes to commercial motor tax which will mean an annual saving of over €4,000 for hauliers across the country.
“Transportation costs are a major issue for every business in Ireland; big and small. To keep Ireland competitive and to help businesses, Budget 2016 has significantly reduced commercial motor tax rates. This will benefit hauliers in particular.
“The number of rates will be reduced from 20 to 5 and will range in cost from €90 to €900 per year, down from a maximum cost of €5,195. These changes, which will benefit over 28,500 commercial vehicles, will come into effect from 1st January 2016.
“Irish hauliers compete with businesses in Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK, where up until now motor tax has been much lower. This has caused increased costs across the economy and in some cases has driven businesses to register in Northern Ireland.
“This change is extremely important for Irish hauliers, particularly those in border areas. These measures will lower the costs of goods and services, and it will provide a huge boost to local economies.
“This is an interim measure pending the replacement of the current commercial motor tax regime with a fairer basis for calculating commercial motor tax. These issues have been raised by members and groups of the road haulage industry on a number of occasions in the last couple of years with presentations to the committee and I very much welcome the announcement on this budget that will help this important sector in the economy.
“This Budget is a positive one after what has been a very difficult time for businesses. The last few budgets have been hard, but they made it possible for Ireland to exit the bailout, reduce our debts, and move into a real recovery.

“The top priority this year is to keep the recovery going in all parts of the country, while providing relief and better services. Part of this includes driving the local economy by supporting businesses who rely on transport to provide a service.”