Car tax in Abkhazia to triple

Annual car tax in Abkhazia is going to increase three times, as reported by deputy chairman of the Road Fund Vitaly Tsvizhba.

The parliament will consider a bill by the government by the end of 2023. If the bill is adopted, the increase will be phased over three years.

Now this tax is from 1200 rubles [about $12] and up, depending on the engine power of the car.

A total of 42,000 vehicles are registered in Abkhazia, according to data for 2022.

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The annual tax on vehicles is one of the two components that form the revenue of the Road Fund of Abkhazia. The second component is a special tax levied on gasoline and diesel fuel imported into the republic.

Starting next year the Road Fund will have another source of income – the fund will receive 20% of the amount of compulsory insurance on foreign vehicles in Abkhazia.

However, despite the growth of revenues, the Fund has enough money only for cosmetic repair of roads. Major repairs of roads of republican and district significance are usually made at the expense of Russian investment programs.

“Against the background of rising fuel prices and electricity tariffs, which resulted in the rise in prices of goods and services, against the background of high unemployment and low wages and social payments, the increase in the tax on motor vehicles looks like a robbery of our citizens,” the head of the opposition veteran organization “Aruaa”, Temur Gulia, says.