Tax Plan For New Car Owners

[george]

Tax plan for new car owners

BANGKOK: -- Motorists with new cars carrying red registration plates will be allowed to drive 24 hours a day, but road tax will be effective immediately after the vehicles are handed over to buyers.

The planned measure is aimed at increasing the state coffers as many new vehicles continue to use red licence plates for an extended period to avoid paying the road tax.

Piyapan Champasut, director-general of the Land Transport Department, said the law would be amended so that motorists could legally use new cars at night, instead of just during the day as is the case now. He said the agency would have to levy tax on motorists from the day they receive their new cars from car companies because many firms delay registration of new cars, resulting in the loss of tax income.

At the moment, owners don’t have to pay tax until the cars are issued with normal black-and-white plates.

In addition, automobile companies will be required to indicate the date their clients received the cars when they register the car plates.

Piyapan said most motorists usually don’t get their black-and-white plates straight away even though it takes only one day to complete the registration process. He said some car companies misappropriate the money that their clients give them to register the car plates.

--The Nation 2005-07-10