Government looks set to backtrack on controversial plans to make all senior motorists pay for a vehicle licence.Laws exempting older owners of any vehicle from the annual fee were introduced by the former Progressive Labour Party Government in 2007. But in last month’s Budget, the new One Bermuda Alliance administration said the law needed to be amended to stop the tax break being abused.Under fresh proposals, seniors who owned vehicles in bands A-D would still qualify for a full exemption, but owners of larger vehicles in bands E-H would have to pay the full fee.The decision was met with concern by advocates for the elderly, while one senior told The Royal Gazette that a two-tier tax system would be discriminatory.Acknowledging that the plan was “distressing” to some seniors, Transport Minister Shawn Crockwell has now confirmed that Government is to rethink its position on the matter — even though a Bill outlining the changes has already been tabled in the House of Assembly.“The discriminatory argument is one that does have its merits and so we will be looking at this decision again,” Mr Crockwell said.“I have spoken to my technical officers and the Minister of Finance and we will be looking at the issue of treating seniors differently.”Mr Crockwell did not reveal details of how the new law will now be drafted to close the loophole while treating seniors across the board the same.“This adjustment will not affect the revenue position we expect to achieve but will address the valid concern of potential unfairness. Any revision of the Bill will be straightforward,” he said.“Additionally, those seniors who require specific vehicles for health or disability reasons will still be able to apply to the Minister for an exemption pursuant to section 62A of the Motor Car Act 1951.”Seniors’ rights charity Age Concern gave a guarded response to the reversal, saying that it would reserve comment until it had seen the revised policy. The Royal Gazette understands that Age Concern representatives will be meeting with Minister Crockwell this morning.Government put forward the amendment after Transport Control Department data suggested the exemption was being abused. There was a 26 percent increase in the number of vehicles being registered by seniors after the tax holiday was introduced, while the number of Band H cars — the most expensive vehicle to licence — shot up by a massive 358 percent.Mr Crockwell said a study had shown that, after the exemption rule had been introduced, some car owners were “selling” their vehicles to elderly relatives, who could then get a licence without having to pay.“The scam — which was in most cases not technically illegal — was estimated to have cost Government $40 million.“I should point out that the recommendation to repeal the exemption for seniors licensing cars in classes E through H was from a report prepared by Government’s Department of Internal Audit, which outlined abuse of the exemption costing millions in lost revenue,” the Minister said.“There are cases we could identify where an individual was registering their car and, immediately after the law came into place, it was being registered by their mother.“That was the type of circumstance in which it was being abused and it was costing $40 million a year. You have to take a look at it, especially in the current economic climate, and we needed to come up with another way.“But we have now listened to the concerns of the seniors and decided to look at the position with a view to making an adjustment which doesn’t only affect one group of seniors.”The loophole had previously been flagged up by the PLP Government. However, when it attempted to reverse the policy in 2011 — by limiting the exemption to vehicles in bands A-D — the move was criticised and eventually dropped.Instead, the then-Government hoped toughening up vetting procedures would tighten the loophole. Seniors had to visit TCD in person with their driving licence in order to qualify for the exemption.