Deputies consider abolition of road tax

MOTORISTS may see the abolishment of the road tax and an increase in fuel duty if a controversial proposal submitted by DIKO’s Nicos Pittokopitis is adopted by Parliament.

Members of the House Communications Committee and House Finance Committee were supposed to present their positions and recommendations on the proposed measure yesterday, but because the members were not all ready and because they are still awaiting some pieces of evidence from various government agencies, they have decided to postpone the discussion and decision until next week.

Though no positions have yet been presented, President of the House Finance Committee Aristos Chrysostomou said that one of the possibilities being discussed is to increase the price of petrol by only one or 1.5 cents per litre as opposed to the 5 or 6 cents per litre that had been previously suggested.

Supporters of the bill like DIKO’s Nicos Pittokopitis and Zacharias Koulias claim that abolishing the road tax and increasing fuel duty will save costs for taxpayers since motorists will only be paying for the time they are on the road, and will eliminate the bureaucracy and inspection costs involved in the road taxing procedure.

Detractors, primarily from opposition DISY, claim drivers are already paying enough at the pumps and would not accept petrol price hikes.

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