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EU launches VRT probe
22.03.11
by Caoimhinn Barr, Inishowen Independent
INISHOWEN anti-VRT campaigner Ryan Stewart has
hailed a ‘massive breakthrough’ in his fight to
abolish the controversial motor tax.
The EU Committee on Petitions confirmed that it
would launch an investigation into the two specific
issues relating to the car levy, which may
contravene European human rights laws.
Stewart wrote to the Brussels-based committee
claiming that two groups of Irish citizens were
being unfairly treated regarding VRT, namely
students who drive to colleges in the North and
cross-border workers. |
Chairman of the
Committee on Petitions, Erminia Mazzoni, said
Stewart’s concerns "are admissible in accordance
with the Rules of Procedure of the European
Parliament". Mazzonie revealed that the committee
"decided to ask the European Commission to conduct a
preliminary investigation of the various aspects of
the problem".
Stewart, who has campaigned against VRT for almost a
year and recently stood in the General Election,
said the news could mark the beginning of the end of
the tax.
“The fact that the EU Petitions Committee deems the
cases admissible shows that it feels there are
serious flaws regarding VRT. This confirms
everything we have been saying for the past twelve
months; it is a very positive step,” he said. |
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Ryan Stewart. |
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“If the Government are
forced to exempt cross-border workers and students
from paying VRT then revenue from the tax will be so
low it will not be worth keeping. It is like
building blocks; if we pull out a few at the bottom
then the whole thing will collapse,” he added. |
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