New car tax to grow for all car types despite change in calculus

Marţi, 26 februarie 2008, 19:16 English | Business

The new formula for Romania's controversial first registration car tax will lead to higher taxes for all types of cars as compared to the values announced by the government in January, despite that it would refer to carbon emissions. Thus, even with carbon emissions taken into consideration for euro 4 cars, the tax for new cars will be higher than that applied to second hand cars, given a principle that in time new cars are polluting more than older ones.

According to the new calculus formula, the tax for euro 4 cars will grow proportionally with the value of CO2 emissions and will decrease for older cars. Thus the principle agreed by Romanian authorities and the European Commission, according to which the tax for car pollution should be applied according to the lifespan of a car, is complied with", a governmental source told HotNews.ro.

The latest proposal pushed forward by the Romanian government, which awaits EC approval, involves a new change that would have the tax grow according to the euro standard - that is, one should pay more for a non-euro car than set in a current draft ordinance aimed at changing rules for the tax, sources told HotNews.ro.

The legislation on the tax, which was applied in early 2007 and led to fierce criticism from Brussels and discontent among Romanian car buyers, has been going through a wave of changes as Romania faces two rounds of elections this year.