A Douglas motorist has criticised the government for charging ‘excessive’ rates of road tax and failing to offer a six monthly payment option.
Businessman and taxi driver Martin Moore said for the first time he could remember, some vehicle taxation rates in the Isle of Man exceeded their UK equivalents.
In addition, while the UK offers a six month tax option, for a small surcharge, to break down the lump sum into two easier payments, none is offered in the Isle of Man.
‘If you consider the number of vehicles compared to the number of miles of roads in the Isle of Man, we are paying considerably more,’ Mr Moore said.
‘And when you consider the state of some of the island’s roads, you have to ask where the money is going. It doesn’t seem to be going to maintain the roads.’
On the six month payment option, which is not available in the Isle of Man, he added: ‘It would ease the payment for people and I believe many people would be in favour of it but I understand it is not favoured at a political level.
‘How many vehicles are parked up because people can’t afford the cost of a vehicle licence all in one go?’
He said he thought historically no six month option was offered because the cost was less than in the UK but added there seems to be no justification now this is not the case.
The cost of car tax in the Isle of Man starts at £47 for a vehicle up to 1,000cc. A vehcile up to 1,200cc is £86 and up to 1,800cc is £152 per year. In the UK, a vehicle up to 1,549cc costs £145 or £79.75 for six months. Vehicles over that engine size cost £230 in the UK or £126.50 for six months. For motorcycles, the difference is perhaps more pronounced, with a 125cc bike costing £17 for a year in the UK compared with £37 in the Isle of Man, known as the motorcycling capital. Similarly the popular 600cc category costs £71 to tax in the Isle of Man compared with £58 in the UK. Bigger capacity bikes however are cheaper in the Isle of Man
The disparity based on CO2 emissions is greater with category A vehicles, which are free in the UK, costing £30 in the Isle of Man, category B costing £37 compared with £20 in the UK and remaining costlier across the board.
New DoI Minister Phil Gawne said the income was needed to maintain the road network which would suffer as a result of any reduction in cost and it was also important to recoup administration costs.