Saakashvili Orders to Cancel Property Tax on Motor Vehicles

In a popular move President Saakashvili instructed Finance Minister Lexo Alexishvili to stop collecting property taxes on motor vehicles and to prepare relevant amendments to the tax code envisaging the cancellation of the tax.

According to the law, owners of motor vehicles should have paid property taxes by November 15; however most car owners failed to meet the deadline and complained that they were not informed about the existence of the tax. The amount of payment varies from a minimum GEL 5 to maximum GEL 300, depending on the type of vehicle. Stories about long queues of angry drivers lining up to pay taxes in the banks were top news in most Georgian media sources on November 15.

?Taxes are very important. The state survives thanks to the taxes, but we should not use taxes as a tool of torture. I will not let the government invent a new tool for torturing the population… I categorically demand to stop this disturbance of the population,? President Saakashvili said on November 16.

This post is also available in: ქართული (Georgian) Русский (Russian)