The government agreed yesterday with the facts on registration taxes on used cars as presented by the European Commission, but argued that these taxes served “purposes that are central to our own particular situation, including environmental considerations”.

The EC has started infringement proceedings against Malta because of the taxes, which the EC said discriminated against second-hand cars bought from other EU markets.

“In Malta’s case,” the government said yesterday, “environmental concerns do not simply include CO2 emissions but also traffic congestion levels on our road network and the ever-increasing need for parking areas. The government uses the registration tax of both new and second-hand vehicles in order to reduce traffic congestion levels in Malta by encouraging more people to consider alternative modes of transport to passenger cars.”

Adding to its case, the government said that in 2004, Malta had 525 vehicles per 1,000 population and was already in fifth place in the EU for the highest ratio of cars per 1,000 inhabitants. “This is already expected to increase by approximately 20 to 35 per cent, leading to higher levels of CO2 emissions and traffic congestion,” it added.

“Malta also ranks way above the other member states in terms of passenger cars per square kilometre, and traffic congestion is already extremely high. The lowering of registration tax on second-hand cars would encourage more people to purchase private cars that are not necessarily of a cleaner, more fuel-efficient type.”

The ageing of the car population would, apart from congestion, only increase the levels of CO2 emissions, it added. The Finance Ministry was evaluating the EC’s communication and intended to submit its formal reply in the coming weeks.