Copy of letter to Members of Tynwald:

Please consider bringing changes to our outdated current road tax vehicle duties when you come to vote on the proposed vehicle duty increases in Tynwald in March.

For the first time owners of electric vehicles will have to pay road tax too.

If Tynwald agrees, at its March sitting, the rates will rise by 10 per cent across most categories of vehicles.

The user pays!

Who can object to the notion that the user pays?

Is it now the time to bring changes to our outdated current road tax vehicle duties and consider to introduce a road user fuel tax on road fuel diesel and or petrol?

Alternatively, a simple mileage charge and let’s abandon our unfair current road tax vehicle duty.

Option 1

A road fuel tax on diesel and or petrol is easy to apply.

Option 2

A simple low mileage discount system. Vehicle owners make a simple declaration when taxing their vehicle and they then receive an appropriate discount.

Clearly we will need to apply a suitable deterrent if some of the public are tempted to tell porky pies. If that is too difficult for our government to work with then please consider

Option 3

A very simple age-related discount. Let’s be honest’ our older population receiving state pensions may have limited income and are less likely to be racing around our island.

Many Manx vehicle owners are paying just to have their vehicles standing on their private driveway or in a garage for most of the vehicle’s life,

I would suggest that many of our older Manx residents use their vehicles rarely to venture out onto our Manx roads. Many of them venture out only on very rare occasions, possibly on a nice sunny day or the odd visit to a local shop or supermarket,

Why should those light road user vehicle owners pay the same current road tax vehicle duty of those vehicle owners that heavily use our island’s roads who currently pay the same vehicle duty to use our island’s roads?

As you are all probability aware, many insurance companies offer discounts for low mileage use of your vehicle.

Alf Caine

Castleward Farm

Strang Road

Braddan

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