Tweaking Road Tax Regime to Encourage Installation of More Safety Features when Purchasing Higher Engine Capacity Cars

Assoc Prof Jamus Jerome Lim asked the Minister for Transport (a) whether the existing road tax regime, which levies higher taxes on vehicles with higher engine capacity, indirectly encourages the purchase of cars with fewer embedded safety features; and (b) whether the Ministry will consider exemptions for added safety features for private hire cars so as to encourage installation of more safety features in this class of vehicles.

Our car road tax structure is designed to be progressive. Engine capacity and power rating are used as proxies to tax luxurious cars more. There is however no correlation between the number of embedded safety features in cars and the cars’ engine capacity or power rating.

We are not planning to provide road tax exemptions for private hire cars with added safety features. To ensure road worthiness before the vehicles are registered for use, all vehicles in Singapore must meet stipulated safety requirements, which are in line with international standards.