OVER 70 PER cent of Irish adults believe the Government should remove taxation on safety equipment such as air bags, according to a new survey.
The poll of 1,006 Irish adults - carried out for GE Money Ireland by RedC - found that 71 per cent believe taxation such as VAT and vehicle registration tax (VRT) should not be applied to car safety equipment.
Currently, the cost of all safety systems, such as air bags or stability control systems - which feature under a variety of abbreviations including ESP, ASC and ASR - are subject to the two-tier taxation system that applies to all features of the car. A 21 per cent VAT rate is applied to all features of a car, after which VRT is incurred.
That can add 30 per cent to the cost of these safety items under the current system, and 36 per cent from July 1st when the emissions-based VRT regime comes into effect.
Such taxes add significant cost to safety systems and can discourage people from choosing them if they are optional.
Up to 4,000 lives a year could be saved if stability control systems were mandatory for all new cars, according to Jacob Bangsgaard, secretary general of a European Commission-sponsored campaign to get electronic stability control (ESC) systems fitted on all new cars.
Some countries already operate tax incentives for safety equipment such as air bags and stability systems. Denmark, which has a relatively high taxation on cars, recently took the step of offering a VRT rebate on ESC, making a car cheaper if this is chosen.
Among the other findings was that nearly 48 per cent of those surveyed supported the introduction of a congestion charge to manage traffic in city centres.