DURING the 55th anniversary dinner of Kuala Lumpur and Selangor Car Dealers and Credit Companies Association on Jan 13, Transport Minister Anthony Loke disclosed that road tax will be digitalised to replace the current practice of displaying stickers on front windscreens.
This will solve the problems associated with road tax stickers tearing easily. Digitalisation should also be extended to commercial vehicle permits that are printed on paper and kept in rental cars, taxis, buses, lorries and other vehicles.
But no system can be foolproof. In time to come, many identical vehicles can be fitted with the same registration number plates and used in different states. And these vehicles could belong to the same or different owners.
The ruse would only be exposed when a police report is made after an accident or genuine owners protest and prove they were not in the state when a summons was issued for driving or parking offences. However, fail-safe methods are also likely to be incorporated.
In any case, the archaic system of calculating road tax should be discarded and replaced by a fairer method using common sense. If tax is based on usage of public roads, then rates should be based on vehicle weight and not engine size.
This is more so with vehicles with small engines, when turbocharged, are more powerful than naturally aspirated engines, which are twice the size. And what will be the rate for power generated by batteries as used in hybrid and electric vehicles, and also hydrogen-powered fuel cells?
The most equitable method is to base road tax on vehicle weight that has a direct impact on the wear and tear of our roads.
Hopefully, not only road tax will be digitalised but the rates will also be based on vehicle weight.
YS Chan
