Road pricing: car taxation

Harmonising road transport taxes in Europe improves the Internal Market and can be an important step towards achieving transparency in the ways by which to levy charges and taxes for road and car use. But will such tax harmonisation be of benefit to the environment? What are the environmental implications of the Commission’s recent attempts to alter and harmonise existing car taxation systems?

This T&E position paper provides answers to the above questions and sheds a critical light on the recent Commission Communication on the Taxation of Passenger Cars in the EU. The position paper argues that apart from properly charging the use of private cars it is necessary to continue to charge car-ownership. Only by charging both user- and ownership can passenger transport become more sustainable!