Euro MPs tipped to back pollution tax

Plans for an EU-wide pollution-based car tax are set to be backed by Euro MPs tomorrow.

The European Commission wants to scrap varying national car and road taxes in EU member states in favour of a standard taxation system centred on CO2 emissions.

And MEPs agree pollution should be the standard yardstick rather than national registration taxes.

A report to be voted on in Strasbourg warns against taking tax policy out of national hands but says different car tax systems are a consumer burden - particularly for motorists wanting to register their cars elsewhere in the EU when moving around Europe for work.

Conservative MEPs are refusing to back the new plan if a system based on CO2 emissions forces vintage and veteran cars off the road.

But hundreds of other MEPs want to see a “green“-based car tax system applied across the 25 EU countries.

The MEPs’ vote has no legal force – the scheme could only become law if approved unanimously by EU governments, and there is currently no majority amongst member states for the plan.

A British government spokeswoman explained: “As drafted by the Commission the tax plan would not involve any changes in the UK system. However, there would be a problem over agreeing any form of standardised taxation policy in the EU on principle, and the Commission knows this is a red line issue for the UK.”

But Liberal Democrat MEP Sharon Bowles said European Parliament support was a welcome move towards such a system:

“The European Parliament is right to back a change in car taxes to influence the cars we buy. This is about using taxes in a new way to change behaviour, not to raise money for EU member states.”

She added: “Green taxes have worked in the Nordic countries, and they should be a model for the rest of Europe.”

Tory MEP Jonathan Evans said the Tories were against the idea because of the possible impact on owners of classic and vintage cars if existing domestic car tax exemptions were lost.

“Vintage cars are part of our heritage. The EU must treat the cars of yesterday and the enthusiasts who preserve them with common sense,” he argued.

“I believe Britain’s thousands of classic car drivers should continue to benefit from their exemption from road taxes and will today fight for their right to drive.”

Today’s report, by a European Parliament committee, says that transport accounts for 28% of all CO2 emissions in the EU, and almost half of that share is caused by passenger cars. the report endorses the idea of introducing an EU-wide “pollution element” in car taxation

“Fiscal measures show a potential in reducing CO2 emissions. If we want to meet the objectives of the Kyoto protocol, our CO2 emissions should be reduced significantly” says the report’s Danish author Karin Riis-Jorgensen.

“Tax policy must remain a national competence, but it would be useful to establish an EU-wide base for passenger car tax schemes” says the report.

Apart from promoting “green” cars, the report says the new system would stop the current problem of motorists facing double registration payments when they re-register their cars in another member state.

“The current passenger car market is not functioning well and is a burden for people who want to move in Europe. The stressful and tiring process to get your car registered in another Member State is hindering the good functioning of the internal market.”

The report adds: “If we want to make it easy for people to move around in Europe we should get rid of this administrative burden.”