Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2006-09-04-Speech-1-103"
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"en.20060904.18.1-103"2
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"When you buy a new car in, for example, Portugal, you have to pay an astronomical registration tax to the government, sometimes nearly half the final cost of the car. On top of this tax comes VAT and then, over the course of the years, you have to pay a circulation tax, which is a nominal amount. In other words, buying a car in my country is much more expensive than in most EU countries, and this makes no sense. Yet this is how it is and how it will continue to be, because the State – in this case Portugal, which is no different from any other State – likes to charge people up front.
I refer to this information, just as others have done, because it is relevant to what we are debating here. This Proposal for a Directive, aimed precisely at removing what is known as registration tax in EU countries and replacing it with an annual circulation tax, the amount of which will take account of carbon dioxide emissions, is fairer, more sensible, more environmentally-friendly and more economical. This is indeed the right system, as it will make cars more affordable for the middle and lower classes and will lead to a more rapid renewal of the stock of cars on the road, which makes sense from the point of view of both the environment and road safety.
Contrary to what some may believe, an increase in car prices via taxation is not always environmentally friendly. In my country, for example, because new cars, which are more environmentally-friendly, are more expensive, people buy less safe, more polluting used cars from other countries. On the other hand, a circulation tax, as advocated in the proposal for a directive, would ensure that the vehicle tax burden would accompany the car throughout its useful life and that citizens who settle in more than one EU Member State are not taxed twice over. It would also contribute towards more transparent rules in the internal market by enabling people to make a genuine price comparison of cars in the different Member States.
To conclude, ladies and gentlemen, I should like to say that raising car prices does not reduce the number of cars in circulation. It merely worsens the quality of the cars we drive. A fair and balanced circulation tax is always better than an excessive registration tax, for the environment, for the economy and for the citizens. I only hope that the governments of the Member States also understand this at the appropriate time."@en1
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