6,500 persons entitled to €4.8 million under this year’s vehicle tax refund

This year’s vehicle tax refund scheme, applying to those who paid VAT on the registration tax of vehicles purchased between 1 January and 31 December 2007, was launched today and will see the refunding of a total of €4.8 million to 6,500 eligible applicants.

Since the government embarked on the scheme in 2014, €13.9 million have been paid back to people who had paid VAT they were not due on registration tax, Transport Minister Ian Borg said. This year's refunds will bring the total to close to €19 million. 

“The government is doing justice with those who were taxed when they shouldn’t have been,” Borg underscored. The largest single payment which will be issued this year amounts to €14,000.

He said that throughout May, those eligible will receive an application form for the scheme, which has to be filled in, and they will eventually receive a cheque by post for the amount they are due.

Finance Minister Edward Scicluna pointed out that this scheme tied in to other state schemes where the government had put into action its promises of doing justice with people who were due payments - such as former police and electricity board workers - when it was morally obliged to do so.

Next year will be the last for the refund scheme, applying to those who registered their cars in 2008.