Car tax or licence in Malta

Hello hris4tz.

Welcome to Expat.com!

Hope you'll be helped by other members soon.

Thank you,
Aurélie

The reason is that Malta only want to have newer cars with small engines resp. little fuel consumption on the island. Therefore the road license become higher with the age of the car and the consumption.
This new scheme was introduced in January 2009 and is valid for all cars registered in Malta 01/2009 and later - regardless of their YOM.
For all existing cars, i.e. registered in Malta before 01/2009, the "old road tax scheme" is still applicable.

I understand how the charge is applied and have read the information provided.
My point is now the fact is, a car originally bought and registered on the island, is cheaper to tax than the exact same car imported or registered after 2009.
I think, and i beleive alot of other people would also beleive that to be discrimatory.
I stress aswell that the difference in price, to someone who lives and works on the island is a big difference(wages you'll know what i mean). (the difference was 300 euro in my  case)

Although i agree with the principal of what the government is trying to do, i do not agree with their way of putting it into action, the discrepancy between the price is too high.
They have ended up with poor guys like me who struggle to pay the tax, and a second hand car market in Malta full of cars that cannot sell simply because of the fact they are not "ta Malta",the second hand car market is also frankly much needed as i know i cant afford to buy a brand new car, can you?

What they are doing is unfair and i know i sound like a whine and im pissed off, but i seriously want to question the legality of it.
Would love to here from someone who knows Eu law, as lol im not that clued up.

You need to keep in mind that those who bought their car before 2009 paid more registration tax than post-2009 buyers.

Thats correct yes but thats if youre the person or company that bought the car to malta.
Once that car sells again it is then the problem im having arises.
Someone who just wants a car too live with in Malta buys a car  naively not researching the whole tax thing before buying.
The car was a similar size car he has had previously and was taxed for six months and was he thought a good buy. (im the he)
So now because the car he owns brought and paid for in the second hand car market on the island was bought into the country he is expected to pay a higher rate of tax than the exact same car that was not

So basically because this car is so much too tax its either i sell for a big loss, or i struggle and i pay.
Unfair... yes
Legally...i dont know id love too know so do tell, any lawyers in the forum??
screwed.....yes i am.

Don't agree with you, sorry. This is a bit like buying something from one shop and then realising you could have bought it cheaper from elsewhere.

When buying high ticket items its essential to carry out extensive research and if you're in a foreign country ask locals or other expats for tips prior to purchasing.

Lol i thanks for your honesty,and i actually stopped and asked myself, am i being a bit of a bitch?" but i assure you its not simply me throwing a hissy fit.
Theirs a problem with the system in place.
I dont beleive that two cars of the exact same type and year should be charged different rates of tax. A one off import tax and registration and the car should be treated as any other. Not expected to pay more

ALL CARS ARE IMPORTED - SO WHY THE DIFFERENCE......? ok to spin this what would be the calcs if this scenario was in 2019..ten years on....

I personally think its ridiculous (OIM) and yes I do believe it to be discriminatory too.....best bet is to take this to the EU - one EU case for car reg tax has already been won with another 1800 or more still to process......

It's always advisable to ask for information beforhand - especially in Malta

Hi Chris,

I do think there is a difference as the person who had bought the similar  car  bought it under the tax rules that applied at that time. So when it was decided to change the tax calculation to include environmental conditions it would have been unfair to them. It is what is called protection of confidence.

Anybody purchasing the same car after the change in law had the option of buying or not buying with knowledge of the new law.

But there might be a case of discrimination but is it really worth it trying to press the case ? I myself am receiving a pension under terms that do not exist for younger folks anymore because they raised the age limits in Germany? But my terms run under ' protection of confidence' as I signed in before the rules changed.

Cheers
Ricky

a good point i think Ricky - not sure what the answer is to be honest... i fully understand why it needed to be done - but by the same token new cars (ALL of them imported) prices here are just ridiculous....and can undertand fully why the consumer gets irate and feels "badly done to"

On the other hand, if 50% of the private cars would dissappear and no longer clogging the streets, the reliability of the Arriva service would have a chance to improve and thus, again, would decrease the need of having an own car ...

maybe ...

Thanks to all for your replys.
I do feel like its just a bad deal and its something ill have to deal with.
Its a bitter pill to swallow.

it is indeed Chris.... the watchword is " do the research first on all manner of liablities before committing to buying" easy to say after the event i know - but it is true and we have all learned the hard way not just in buying cars but in all manner of things. thats the beauty of this forum as many of us have been there and done it, even got a t-shirt and video (or should i say MP3/4) and we try as best we can to advise beforehand. good luck

Can i ask if they actually told you that the car was registered after 2009 ??

Because if they didn't then is this not information that has to be released ????

Despite what the dealer/seller say or promise, ALWAYS check the vehicle's logbook for the date of first registration (in Malta) and the technical data.

Yesterday I bought a japanese motorcycle which was first registered in Malta 1975

btw, if a vehicle is "garaged" you have to consider about 60-100,- additional for re-registration and the new license plate.

also check to be sure of diesel or petrol on your logbook-i bought my car (2001 plate ta malta) 2 yrs ago and the logbook said diesel but in fact was petrol and i wasnt the first owner....so how come they managed to do this for all those years taxation and insurance etc.....yet as soon as i had to it was a problem and had to resolve it myself - a few hours in the transport office and they checked the original import details at the dealer and sure enough it was this way since 2001. caveat emptor

Lol so wanna thank everyone for the replies, only joined the forum to vent some anger at the situation, and have found myself logging on each night to have a look at whats been said.

In reply to some of the qstns i was'nt certain at the time of purchase if i was told it was "ta Malta" or not my girlfriend who was with me at the time assures me i was told that it was not and that i was too busy checking the car out to care.

Again my fault apparently she tried to explain but i just brushed it over.
Still think it stinks and dont think its fair two different ratess of tax for same cars but hey gotta deal with it.
All paid for now lol was also told next year it wil be 480 euro,
and the year after 530 when it reaches that amount it will be capped because the car is 14 years old something like that.

Once again thanks for the replies, except being compared to an  angry shopper was really happy with the response and support from u guys.
Will be a regular on here from now on so speak to you all soon

thanks for the feedback Chris

Hi we are now in 2019 hope you are calm now its been some time since your post in 2013 but to let you know we imported a car two years ago an immaculate car but 14years old and our road tax is €560 per annum regs Keith.

@lambada  Hi , i think you are truly wrong in your thinking, as here in Malta there are absolute pieces of crap on the road , spewing enormous amounts of pollution into the atmosphere, leaking puddles of oil everywhere, yet they are OK ?? An imported car of a younger age, where the Tax has already been paid on import, would be much friendlier to the environment . This is just a TAX grab and should be outlawed.