To Vima — The government aims to collect 1.1 billion euros in road taxes by the end of year, while the new bailout agreement stipulates that 72 million euros must be collected via vehicle inspection centers and about 150 million euros from the luxury tax, which affects all vehicles above 2.5 liter engines.
With vehicle taxation having increased dramatically in recent years, many owners have opted instead to hand in their license plates and immobilize their cars, particularly owners of luxury cars and cars with large engines. Since 2009 about 772,000 cars have been immobilized, which translates in over 750 million euros in lost taxes.
So far the owners of diesel-power vehicles have benefited from low or even null road taxes, but it remains to be seen whether the government will change its policy.
