Motor tax: Drivers face €10 penalty for not paying car tax online
PEOPLE paying for motor tax by post or over the counter may face penalties as part of a bid to drive more business online.
But elderly groups branded the proposal "grossly unfair" last night warning it would hit older motorists hardest.
More online services would cut costs and increase efficiency for the public, according to the report.
Among the chief targets for further cost-savings were motor tax, advertisements and planning applications.
Those who fail to use the online motor tax payment facility would be hit by a €10 manual handling fee if the recommendations are enforced.
Age Action Ireland spokesman Eamon Timmons said 80pc of over-65s in Ireland were not computer literate and would be hardest hit if the measure was implemented.
He pointed out this was being suggested at a time when the government's digital inclusion funding was coming to an end.
According to the report, there was potential for more motor tax payments to be made online -- in 2008 more than 31pc of 5.1m motor tax transitions were via the internet.
The group insisted the introduction of a €10 levy was not a revenue-raising suggestion but aimed at encouraging use of the online system. Such a move would bring in €33m a year which would decline over time.
It also recommended allowing more commercial vehicles renew their motor tax online with a cost-saving implication of €2m.
Savings could also be achieved by extending the online planning applications systems throughout all the local authorities. It reduces the need to scan paper documents and the time needed to validate applications, it advised.
Such a change would slash local authority advertising budgets in half resulting in savings of €3.9m a year.
- Louise Hogan
Irish Independent
