5 December 2016
By Tom Collins
tom@TheCork.ie
“Decreased motor taxes for road hauliers in 2016 will mean savings for businesses across the country and will help to create jobs”, says Fine Gael TD for Cork North West, Áine Collins.
“From dealing with the Irish Road Haulage Association, I know that this will have a significant impact. The haulage industry is absolutely crucial to a small export oriented economy like Ireland and a huge number of jobs are dependent on it. The Government recognises this and Budget 2016 has capped commercial motor tax at €900 per annum which is significant for hauliers, lowering their costs and enabling them to better compete with competitors such as those in the UK.
“From January, the number of rates of commercial motor tax has been reduced from 20 to 5 and will now range in cost from €90 to €900 per year, down from a maximum cost of €5,195. These changes will save many hauliers over €4,000 per year which is very significant.
“The other crucial element for businesses that depend on transporting goods is a high quality, well maintained road network. Efficient travel times for road hauliers means savings for businesses.
“In recognition of this, the Government’s Capital Plan also set aside €6 billion for investment in our road network which is extremely beneficial for road hauliers. €4.4 billion of this is for essential maintenance and strengthening works on our network, restoring our roads to the quality levels required by businesses for increased efficiencies. The remainder of the investment will be for progressing new priority roads projects, and by 2022, significant progress will have been made in tackling bottlenecks and pinch points across the road network.
“Through our Action Plan for Jobs, Fine Gael in Government has overseen the creation of over 135,000 jobs. However we cannot take it for granted that stability and recovery will continue. Fine Gael has a plan to keep the economy strong and the recovery going. It is measures like this motor tax cap that will ensure the economy continues to grow and that jobs are created.”
