‘Dutch first in Europe to adopt green tax for cars’

THE INDEPENDENT – 16/11/09

The Dutch government has announced plans to introduce a green tax to replace the annual road tax on cars from 2012. It is envisaged that drivers will pay a charge per kilometre driven in order to try to end chronic congestion and cut carbon emissions. The system will use Global Positioning Systems (GPS) to monitor cars, which will be similar to the scheme used in Singapore where drivers are charged according to the amount of travel. The GPS will track the time, hour and place each car moves and send the data to a billing agency. When this plan takes effect, the corresponding abolition of purchase and roads taxes could cause car prices in the Netherlands to fall by up to 25%. In their place, an average passenger will pay 0.03 Euros per kilometre, with higher charges levied during rush hour and for travelling on congested roads. The Dutch Transport Ministry also said that trucks, commercial vehicles and larger cars that emit more carbon dioxide will be assessed at a higher rate. Read the article…