Validity of motor tax challenged in court

Dublin, 26 January 1915 - Richard Reeve Smythe of Griffin Lodge in Lucan, Co. Dublin, has been prosecuted by Dublin County Council for refusing to pay motor tax duty.

The tax was implemented under the provisions of the Motor Tax Licence Duties Collection Order, 1910 and is collected from all people who own cars.

Local Government Board document showing the number of motor cars, including motor cycles, registered in Ireland up to 30 March 1914. If the claims made in court by Mr Smythe's council are true, very few of the owners of these vehicles pay their motor tax. Click to enlarge. (Image: National Archives of Ireland, CSO RP 1914, 16972)

Mr. Smythe's legal council questioned the validity of the tax. He noted that motorists across Ireland rarely paid it to their county councils and prosecutions were 'like angel visits, few and far between'.

Magistrates rejected these arguments and imposed a fine of £20, with £1 costs.

[Editor's note: This is an article from Century Ireland, a fortnightly online newspaper, written from the perspective of a journalist 100 years ago, based on news reports of the time.]