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And that's just for a month! Now you know how much taxes we pay...

CB analysis: The LTA’s merry month of May
As the 2007 Quota Year got underway, the Land Transport Authority took home S$152.9 million from new car owners in May

WITH THE COE market hitting yet another fresh high for the year, May has turned out to be a jolly month for the Land Transport Authority’s bean counters.

The amount generated by COE premiums from Categories A, B and E (the three used to register passenger cars and taxis) hit almost $152.9 million in May, making it the best month of 2007.

It seems the 2007 Quota Year, which kicked off this month, has certainly gotten off to a fine start.

A COE, or Certificate Of Entitlement, allows a person to own and operate a car for ten years. They are obtained via public auction, twice every month.

Although the COE system is ostensibly not meant to be a revenue-generator but a means of controlling the car population, it has been extremely lucrative for the LTA.

In 2007 alone, the takings from Cat A, B and E COEs have totaled almost $653 million so far.

This means that just under $65.3 million is collected on average from every COE tender exercise, or close to $130.6 million a month.

The worst month for the LTA was February, when a collapse in COE premiums in the second tender exercise of the month brought in just under a ’paltry’ $36.8 million.

That month saw COE collections from cars total less than $99.1 million – some 25 per cent less than average.

The end of the bumper crop of COEs from the unusually large 2006 Quota Year brought about a smaller pool of certificates in April, and that actually made revenues fall.

In March, COEs for cars enabled the LTA to scoop up $140.4 million, collected from 10,404 successful bidders. April, which saw only 8,793 successful bidders, generated $131.4 million, a $9 million drop.

However, the market has since taken off, and with many in the car trade expecting even pricier COEs in the months to come, May’s collection looks set to be eclipsed in a fortnight’s time.

Other sources of revenue for the LTA include Additional Registration Fees (a sort of upfront import tax for new cars), annual road tax collections, COE renewals and payment of fines.

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