A third off road tax for pick-ups

PARLIAMENT on Friday passed a bill that cuts road tax for pick-up trucks and dual cabs by three cents per cubic centimeter, to seven.

The bill was tabled by opposition parties Akel, Diko and Edek.

It provides for a three-cent reduction – from ten to seven — per cc in the tax paid by the owners of old pick-up and double-cab trucks of up to 2850cc.

The reduction will kick in on January 1, 2018.

The change will cost the state some €4m per year.

Chairman of the House transport committee, Diko MP Giorgos Prokopiou, said the bill was designed to correct the injustice against the owners of such vehicles who were medium and low-income earners, usually farmers.

Prokopiou said the high road tax was imposed when the price of diesel was much lower than petrol. The fuel prices have since come close to being the same, but the higher road tax remained.

That forced many owners to immobilise them, he said.

Disy MP Demetris Demetriou, whose party supported the bill, said they would have preferred a wider adjustment of the road taxes. It nevertheless corrected a distortion, he said, suggesting that incentives must also be given for the withdrawal of older vehicles.

Akel MP Andreas Fakontis said the particular class of vehicles was charged around €300 for road tax when lorry owners paid €200 to €250 and taxis €100.

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