EuroWheenie
Well-known member
- Joined
- Jan 15, 2005
- Posts
- 2,487
FNFAL
Indeed, there is more to it than just taxing the gas. I do belive I also mentioned slapping a heavy tax on trucks to lesson the demand. Quite honestly, I've no idea how much of the cost of a car in the US is down to taxes, federal or state. In Belgium where I'm currently living, all private cars are subject to 21% VAT. Then you'll pay an annual tax depending on the size of the engine vs fuel consumption (terribly complicated, I've yet to figure out how they do it) and the weight of the car. Generally speaking, the heavier and more fuel inefficent a vehicle is, the more you'll bleed in taxes.
In my home country, Denmark, taxation on cars is one of the reasons I decided to leave for pastures greener. First you'll pay 25% VAT. Then you'll pay 180% tax (yes, you also pay tax on the VAT) and eventually end up getting one but paying for three! For your information, the previously mentioned A3, which was 26.2K USD stateside, will set you back roughly 77.5K USD if you bought it in Denmark! Yes, seventyseven and a half thousand Dollars.
As for roadpricing I'm not quite convinced it'll do much but make it more expensive to drive for those who need to, and it certainly does nothing to improve fuel efficiency - a Toyota hybrid will presumeably be taxed the same as a 4.8 litre Range Rover ...
To my mind cars should be taxed depending on fuel economy, and while I don't particularly fancy paying almost EUR 1.0 for a litre of Diesel, it sure beats paying 1.2 for petrol, especially when Diesel offers vastly superior fuel efficiency. I used to own a Mini Cooper with a 115BHP petrol engine. I'd consume roughly 80 litres of fuel driving between BRU and CPH, a trip of around 1070km, driving economically with an average speed of 110 km/h and spending around 10 hours completing the trip. In the Audi I'll usually set the cruise control to 200 km/h and clock an average speed around 150 km/h burning the same amount of fuel, but I'll get there in around 7 hours. Diesel; it's the only way to go!
Indeed, there is more to it than just taxing the gas. I do belive I also mentioned slapping a heavy tax on trucks to lesson the demand. Quite honestly, I've no idea how much of the cost of a car in the US is down to taxes, federal or state. In Belgium where I'm currently living, all private cars are subject to 21% VAT. Then you'll pay an annual tax depending on the size of the engine vs fuel consumption (terribly complicated, I've yet to figure out how they do it) and the weight of the car. Generally speaking, the heavier and more fuel inefficent a vehicle is, the more you'll bleed in taxes.
In my home country, Denmark, taxation on cars is one of the reasons I decided to leave for pastures greener. First you'll pay 25% VAT. Then you'll pay 180% tax (yes, you also pay tax on the VAT) and eventually end up getting one but paying for three! For your information, the previously mentioned A3, which was 26.2K USD stateside, will set you back roughly 77.5K USD if you bought it in Denmark! Yes, seventyseven and a half thousand Dollars.
As for roadpricing I'm not quite convinced it'll do much but make it more expensive to drive for those who need to, and it certainly does nothing to improve fuel efficiency - a Toyota hybrid will presumeably be taxed the same as a 4.8 litre Range Rover ...
To my mind cars should be taxed depending on fuel economy, and while I don't particularly fancy paying almost EUR 1.0 for a litre of Diesel, it sure beats paying 1.2 for petrol, especially when Diesel offers vastly superior fuel efficiency. I used to own a Mini Cooper with a 115BHP petrol engine. I'd consume roughly 80 litres of fuel driving between BRU and CPH, a trip of around 1070km, driving economically with an average speed of 110 km/h and spending around 10 hours completing the trip. In the Audi I'll usually set the cruise control to 200 km/h and clock an average speed around 150 km/h burning the same amount of fuel, but I'll get there in around 7 hours. Diesel; it's the only way to go!