European car makers call for stronger, clearer CO2 car tax policies in Europe
Wed 14 March 2007
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The association of European car makers, ACEA, has circulated an overview of CO2-based taxes in European Union member states with a message saying that the EU members as a whole are still failing to send clear tax signals in favour of cars emitting less CO2.
ACEA is calling for a more consistent approach to vehicle CO2 taxation across the EU to encourage consumers to buy more climate-friendly vehicles.
ACEA's survey shows that only 11 of the EU’s 27 member states now have some link to CO2 emissions in their national car tax systems, although the association acknowledges that this is up from just nine a year ago. The association says that where there are linkages to CO2, these vary enormously in design. Some countries link only one-off registration taxes to CO2 while others link only annual circulation taxes. Furthermore, the difference in taxes paid by high and low CO2-emitting vehicles is generally relatively small.
ACEA lists a set of principles that is says should guide national tax policies:
* All existing car taxes/fees should be substituted by circulation tax to send simple and clear signals to consumers;
* CO2 should be the key criterion for taxation to provide incentives to buy lower CO2 emitting cars;
* Taxation should be technology-neutral to allow competition for the best solutions;
* There should be no discrimination against certain types, segments or classes of vehicles;
* There should be a linear proportionality to emitted CO2 g/km without cap, or in other words: every gram of CO2 emitted should be taxed the same, to avoid arbitrary thresholds;
* Tax revisions should be budget neutral in transition from old to new schemes and should be adjusted over time to ensure budget neutrality.
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