Get your Geld ready: Germany issues final draft on CO2-based taxes

March 9, 2009 at 2:07 pm

(Source: Autobloggreen)

Changing the road tax legislation in Germany wasn’t an easy thing to do. Here’s how the new tax works, starting July 1st:  

 

First, there’s a base tax based on displacement: €2 per each 100 cubic centimeters if it’s a gasoline car or €9.5 if it’s a diesel car. Additional taxes are based on CO2: for each gram over 120 that your car emits per kilometer, your tax will be increased by €2. That COlimit will drop to 110 grams in 2012 and, from 2014 onwards, it will be 95 grams. So, for example, the new Toyota IQ 1.33, which emits 113 gm/km. The 1.3-liter gas engine will be taxed at 13 * 2 = €26 and the number will stay the same until 2012. At that time, its owner will be charged an extra €6 additional (€32 in total) because 113-110 = 3 grams at €2 each. Then, in 2014, the tax will be even higher: 113-95 = 18 grams, at €2 each, €36 additional (€62 total). I’ll let you do the math with a Porsche Cayenne S.
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California may soon require smog checks for motorcycles

March 5, 2009 at 6:06 pm

California may soon require smog checks for motorcycles

Back on February 26th, California State Senator Fran Pavley introduced legislation that would “amend Section 44011 of, and to add Section 44012.5 to, the Health and Safety Code, relating to air pollution.” All right, what’s that mean? Basically, this legislation would require motorcycle owners in California to get smog checks for their motorcycles once every two years. The law would cover all motorcycles model year 2000 or newer and, if passed, would go into effect on January 1st, 2012. 

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FedEx Chairman Fred Smith Favors Carbon Tax Over Cap-And-Trade

February 25, 2009 at 11:20 am
(Source: CNN)

 Congress should consider imposing a “carbon tax” to curb pollution and use the proceeds to reduce U.S. payroll taxes, FedEx Corp. ( FDX) Chairman and Chief Executive Fred Smithsaid Monday.

A carbon tax would be a much more efficient way to reduce pollution than a cap-and-trade system that would cap the emission of air pollutants and permit trading in pollution credits by firms that stay below the cap, Smith said in response to questions after a speech to the National Press Club.

Smith said a cap-and-trade approach can be gamed and hasn’t worked well in Europe, and that he favors alternatives such as a carbon tax, provided most of the revenue is used to lower payroll taxes. Proposals for a new tax based on vehicle miles traveled also are “ill-advised,” in his view, because they would unfairly penalize those with long commutes without getting at the heart of the problem.

Smith founded the Memphis-based shipping company in 1971 and now serves on the Energy Security Leadership Council, which issued recommendations last year to reduce U.S. dependence on imported energy.

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