There was a time , in Granada, like in the rest of Spain, if you had a car over 25-years old, you paid no municipal road tax.

Not now, because in the city of Granada not only have they eliminated the 100% discount on old cars, but they have also decided that they should pay higher tax than new cars.

Councillor Baldomero Oliver says that this way the city coffers will have an extra 900,000 euros — must remember to send him a Christmas card. His reasoning is to avoid benefiting precisely the vehicles that cause the most pollution.

However, not all cars older than 25 years will lose their 100% discount; those that have a “historic value” will retain this discount.

One can imagine that Land Rovers with their inherent longevity and which abound in rural districts, will not be considered as having “historic value.”

Lastly, readers might agree that most people who are running ageing vehicles are not doing it out of choice but out of economic necessity — something that appears to escape the notice of zealous politicians with coffer fixations.

(News: Metropolitan Granada, Andalucia)