With 41 votes in favor and two against (Ecologists) the Plenary Session of the Parliament voted in law the proposal submitted by the parties, AKEL, DIKO, EDEK to reduce traffic fees from January 1, 2018 in old single-cab and double-cab diesel to large diesel vehicles 2850cc.
According to the Chairman of the Parliamentary Committee on Transport, George Prokopiou, the fees will be reduced from 10 cents per cubic centimeter (CC), to 7 cents per cubic centimeter (CC).
According to the report of the Committee on Transport, the total reduction of state revenues from the adoption of the provisions of the bill is expected to amount to around € 4 million per year.
Speaking before the Plenary Session of the Parliament, Mr. Prokopiou said that the law that was passed will remove an injustice that exists against the owners of these vehicles, the majority of which belong to the middle and lower classes and are farmers and stockbreeders.
He recalled that the high road tax was imposed because when it was set, the price of diesel was much lower than the price of gasoline. He added that now the price of oil and gasoline have little difference, but high road taxes remained.
Mr. Prokopiou also said that due to the high fees, many have immobilized these vehicles and it is possible to restore them with the reduction.
DISY MP Dimitris Dimitriou said that DISY will vote on the bill. He added that "we would like a more general amendment to the fees, he said that it corrects a distortion, and expressed the view that incentives should be given to withdraw old vehicles.
AKEL MP Andreas Fakontis stated that these vehicles are used by the middle classes of the rural population. He said many of them have been immobilized because the 300-euro fee is unprofitable, adding that single-cab and double-cab cabins pay a 300-euro fee when the truck fare is 200 or 250 euros and the taxi fare 100 euros. He added that the Government is expected to submit a bill for the withdrawal of old vehicles.
EDEK MP Elias Myrianthous said that if there was a register of farmers, only farmers could benefit from the reduction. He added that it is a compensatory measure to a group of citizens who lost a lot, such as the heating allowance.
The President of the Citizens' Alliance, George Lillikas, said that there is an understanding of the philosophy of the law.
The MP of the Movement of Ecologists - Citizens' Cooperation Charalambos Theopemptou said that the European Environment Agency warns that lives are lost prematurely from the particulate matter emitted by diesel in cities. He added that the current trends are for diesels to leave the cities and said that if we help them return to circulation, we will harm health.
ELAM President Christos Christou described the reduction as necessary and positive, because, as he mentioned, these vehicles are used by low-wage earners and said that ELAM would submit a proposal for a general reduction of fees by 20%.
Source: KYPE