Sir, - I never cease to be amazed at the brazen neck of the Society of the Irish Motor Industry (SIMI) when it poses as a friend of the motoring consumer. SIMI members, the car manufacturers, continue to set a pre-tax price on new cars which is well above that applying in many of our neighbours in the so-called single market.
Even more outrageous is the cosy little arrangement between SIMI and the Revenue which puts an artificially high valuation on most imported second-hand cars - presumably to discourage competition in the used car market.
And, while we have his attention, the SIMI spokesperson, Cyril McHugh, might like to explain the huge variation in the price of motor fuel in a supposedly tight retail market.
All the evidence suggests that the motor industry charges what it believes the market will bear. In such an environment, any reduction in motoring taxes would assuredly be absorbed by the industry in the form of increased profit margins. - Yours, etc.,
Peter Murray, Currabinny, Carrigaline, Co Cork.