SINGAPORE: A total of S$113 million will be set aside by the Government to provide road tax rebates for petrol and petrol-hybrid vehicles to ease the transition towards higher petrol duties, said the Land Transport Authority (LTA) in a news release on Tuesday (Feb 16).
Petrol duty rate was raised by 15 cents per litre for premium petrol on Tuesday, while intermediate petrol duty will be raised by 10 cents, said Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat announced in his Budget 2021 speech in Parliament.
Here are four things to know about the tax rebates:
1. ROAD TAX REBATES
A 15 per cent road tax rebate will be given to owners of private cars for one year, while motorcycle owners will get 60 per cent road tax rebate. With the 15 per cent road tax rebate for cars, the minimum road tax payment for petrol and petrol-hybrid off-peak cars and revised off-peak cars will be reduced from S$50 to S$43 and from S$70 to S$60 respectively for the one-year period.
The road tax payable for petrol and petrol-hybrid classic cars will be reduced from S$280 to S$238.
With the 60 per cent road tax rebate for motorcycles, the road tax payable for petrol and petrol-hybrid classic motorcycles will be reduced from S$280 to S$112.
Owners of commercial vehicles will get a 100 per cent tax rebate for a year. These comprise goods vehicles, goods-cum-passenger vehicles and buses.
2. IMPLEMENTATION OF ROAD TAX REBATES
The road tax rebates will be applicable for a one-year period from Aug 1, 2021 to Jul 31, 2022.
Vehicle owners will continue to pay road tax based on the existing rates until July 2021. This is because "time is needed to effect the necessary system changes to implement the road tax rebates", said LTA.
Any excess road tax paid will automatically be used to offset against the amount payable at the next renewal, and vehicle owners will be informed of the road tax payable one month before their current road tax expires, in line with current practice.
For those who have already paid road tax beyond Aug 1, 2021 based on the current road tax rates, the excess will be automatically offset against the amount payable at the next renewal, LTA added.
And if the vehicle is transferred before its next road tax renewal, the excess road tax paid will be offset against the transfer fee payable, and any amount remaining will be transferred along with the vehicle to the new registered owner.
3. PETROL DUTY REBATES
Petrol duty rebates will be given in addition to the road tax rebates "to provide further support to those who rely on their vehicles for their livelihoods", said LTA.
On top of the 15 per cent road tax rebate, active drivers of taxis and private-hire vehicle will get a petrol duty rebate of S$360 disbursed over four consecutive months.
Some motorcycle owners, who are registered as at the end of Tuesday, will also receive petrol duty rebates on top of the 60 per cent road tax rebate.
Individual owners of motorcycles with engine capacity of 200cc and below will get S$80 in petrol duty rebate, while individual owners of motorcycles with engine capacity of between 201cc and 400cc will receive S$50.
The road tax and petrol duty rebates will be disbursed automatically to those eligible, and there is no need to apply, said LTA.
4. MORE REBATES FOR MOTORCYCLES, TAXIS, PRIVATE-HIRE CARS MID-2021
Additional petrol duty rebates for motorcycles, taxis and private-hire cars will be introduced by the middle of 2021, with more details to be released by LTA in April, said Mr Heng, who is also the minister for finance.
"Taken together, these measures will offset about one year of petrol duty increases for taxis and motorcycles and about two-thirds for commercial vehicles and cars.
"Most of the expected revenue increase from the petrol duty changes in the coming year will be given out through the offsets, estimated to cost S$113 million," he said.
(credits to Channel NewsAsia: https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/petrol-duty-rate-road-tax-rebates-cars-taxis-motorcycles-14209200?fbclid=IwAR3qafSED9MmTC8SRdvb3h_7Fp5YZQRtKAzOx4tx9ZNRB6-TV-AJ0fT6OYk)
