IT 'S GRAND THEFT AUTO

Sunday Mirror, Jul 6, 2008 by DARREN BOYLE

THE Government's new green car tax scheme was in tatters last night after an Irish Sunday Mirror investigation proved that the Revenue Commissioners' computer system is OVERCHARGING motorists.

In some cases, over five years, drivers could pay out more than EUR11,000 in extra Vehicle Registration Tax (VRT) and road tax.

After the Revenue was alerted to the results of our investigation, a spokesman admitted: ""Revenue recognised that this information may not be fully accurate in all cases for various reasons, such as the accuracy of the source documentation, difficulties about identifying different versions and variants within a model range."

Since July 1 all new cars are subject to a new tax and VRT system based on C02 emissions.

But thousands of drivers importing cars into the State face paying too much tax because they are wrongly being put into higher CO2 bands.

Now the Revenue Commissioners face thousands of appeals from angry motorists.

The hard-pressed drivers face a double whammy of thousands of euro in extra VRT payment and higher road tax bills.

In a random survey, the Irish Sunday Mirror found a list of popular cars which are being stung with unfair taxes.

The cars include Audis, BMWs, Volvos and even a Porsche. Now drivers looking to import cars into Ireland are being advised to double check which tax band their car will be placed into.

Simple research could save a motorists a staggering EUR11,000 over five years.

All cars from 2008 onwards are subject to the new road tax rules which has seven bands ranging from EUR100 a year to EUR2,000 for the heaviest polluting cars.

But the Revenue Commissioners decide which tax band a car is placed in depending on the emissions figures on its own website.

They determine this by measuring the amount of grams of carbon dioxide produced for each kilometre driven known as "g/km".

Also, the level of VRT ranges from 14 per cent of the price of the car rising up to 36 per cent.

But the Irish Sunday Mirror has discovered cases where the Revenue Commissioners' figures are WRONG - placing some popular cars in a higher tax band.

In some cases, this could force motorists to pay up to EUR1,000 a year extra in road tax alone and thousands in higher VRT bills.

The tax man has a VRT calculator on the www.revenue.iewebsite.

Prospective car importers can input details of the car they want on the website to check their tax liability.

The Revenue Commissioners claim one top of the range Audi A8 3.0TDI model is in the highest band with 236g/km emissions Band G.

But Audi's own figures show that the car only produces 224g/km - which places the car in Band F.

This saves the driver four per cent in VRT and EUR1,000 a year in road tax.

The saving in VRT alone is worth a staggering EUR6,217. Over five years, the driver will be charged more than EUR11,217 in extra tax.

The Revenue Commissioners said they tried to ensure that the rates they charge are correct, but admitted they do make mistakes.

A Revenue spokesman said: "We identified the most common 10,000 models imported over the past two years. For each of these models, Revenue researched the levels of CO2 emissions using a range of data available and updated the ROS enquiry system with this data.

"Following this, for each of the 10,000 models for which CO2 figures have been recorded, Revenue now accept a printout from the ROS site as proof of the CO2 emissions. This eliminates the need for the person registering the car to look for other documentary evidence of the levels of CO2 emissions."

He added: "In cases where the information on the website differs from the official information, Revenue will accept certain alternative documentation presented from reputable sources."