Dominika Kalinowska Hartmut

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Dominika KalinowskaHartmut KuhfeldUwe Kunert(DI
W Berlin, Germany)Comparison of EU truck
taxationPresentation at the COST Action 355
Meeting PiraeusApril 18 - 19 2006
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Organisation
Fiscal costs of commercial vehicle purchase,
ownership and use.
Cross-country comparison of varying taxation
schemes.
Main differences in the overall fiscal burden
levied on commercial vehicle holders in the EU-27.
Concluding remarks.
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Existing truck and van classes
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Key notes
Relevant aspects of commercial motor vehicle
traffic in Europe, i.e.EU-25, Switzerland, Norway

• Taxation of motor vehicle traffic contributes a
  considerable share to state tax revenues.
• Variations in taxing and charging structures
  reflect different policy intervention purposes
  emphasised by each country (environment vs.
  competition policy objectives/ protectionism/
  road safety)
• Internationally active heavy goods vehicles are
  confronted with serious distortions as to
  competitive conditions primarily due to existing
  cross-country differences in usage related
  petroleum taxes.
• International integration of the freight
  transport sector suggests harmonisation of
  related vehicle taxation systems and vehicle
  charging methods. Same applies to the
  delimitation of different commercial vehicle
  classes.

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Systematisation criteria
In general taxes and levies applied to commercial
vehicles across Europe fall under the following
systematization

• Commercial vehicles
• classified on the basis of their permissible
  maximum laden weight, loading volume, payload or
  unladen weight
• Vans/ light duty vehicles
• Heavy goods vehicles
• Heavy goods vehicle combinations

• Taxes, levies
• Turnover tax
• Registration tax/ administrative fees
• Holder charges/ circulation tax
• Insurance tax/ parafiscal charges on insurance
  premium
• Petroleum tax

• General categorisation of taxes and levies
• One-of charges relating to purchase and
  registration of vehicles
• Periodic taxes on ownership or tenure of vehicles
• Charges resulting from vehicle use
• Specific road use charges

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Overview of existing tax categories for
commercial vehicles
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Assessment bases
Assessment bases to different commercial vehicle
taxes vary across Europe with tax category and
with vehicle classification

• Assessment basis
• Permissible maximum laden weight
• Net price
• Price including VAT
• Payload
• Weight
• Engine size and/ or type
• Number of axles
• Technical design of axles (air suspension)
• Age of the vehicle
• Cylinder capacity
• (CO2-)Emissions
• Region

• Tax category
• Registration tax
• Circulation tax

• Commercial vehicles
• Vans/ light duty vehicles
• Heavy goods vehicles
• Heavy goods vehicle combinations

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Basic remarks

• Compared to passenger vehicles/ cars, commercial
  vehicles are only in a few countries subject to
  registration tax.
• Registration fees between 9 and 602 are levied
  independent of vehicle class in almost all EU-27
  countries.
• Both, registration tax and/ or registration fee
  are with less than 1 of annualized total tax and
  charge burden rather marginal compared to other
  charges exceptions are M, SLO, and GR.
• Circulation tax amounts on average to 6.4 for
  HGVC 40t (ranging from 1.6 in M to 19 in A),
  3.2 for HGV 7.5 t (from 1.1 in M to 7.8 in
  A), and 3.6 for vans 2.8t (from 1 in CZ to
  11.6 in CY) of annualized total tax and charge
  burden.
• Annual taxes levied on petroleum amount to round
  90 independent the vehicle class exception is
  M with 53.7.

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Cross-EU tax and charge comparison vans 2.8 t
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Cross-EU tax and charge comparison HGV 7.5 t
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Cross-EU tax and charge comparison HFVC 40 t
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Spread of circulation tax inside Europe
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Main findings
Taxes and fees on ownership and use for different
categories of commercial vehicles vary
substantially across the EU-27.

• Depending on the size of the vehicle, difference
  in fixed annual taxescan amount to 3,000
• The overall petroleum tax burden combined of
  mineral-oil and turnover tax varies with fuel
  consumption and is much more substantial than
  fixed charges.
• Consumer prices for diesel ranged in August 2005
  from 0.80/l (in EST and LV) to round 1.40/l (in
  GB).
• The total tax component in diesel fuel ranged
  from 0.20/l (mainly in the accession countries)
  to round 0.70/l (in GB).
• Annual petroleum taxes levied in the category of
  international 40t HGVC can vary across the EU-27
  by as much as 20,000/a (comparing round
  10,000/a in LV vs. 28,000/a in GB).

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Fuel price components in Europe
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Concluding remarks
Existing cross-European disharmonies in ownership
and usage costs resulting from national tax and
charge differences in the categories of
commercial vehicles have serious economic
consequences for the transportation sector.

• Extreme cross-county differences in annualised
  tax and levy burden imposed on holders of
  commercial vehicles entail significant
  discrepancies as to international competitive
  conditions.
• In most countries 40t HGVC bear the highest tax
  burden, e.g., circulation tax, which leads to
  remarkable differences between vehicle classes in
  the fixed tax burden. Only in a few countries
  these differences are fairly moderate (DK, E, F).
• Resulting from the impact and cross-country
  variation of usage related taxes, carriers are
  likely to refuel rather on route profiting from
  existing fuel price differences, than in the
  country of vehicle registration.
• Existence of other tax and charge evasion
  reactions e.g., German Lkw-Maut.

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Excursus newly registered HGV in Germany
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Reaction potential in the transportation sector
The truck toll regulation introduced in September
2003 on the German Autobahn-network caused
different reactions among affected carriers

• Compared to the annual price (750 to 1,400) for
  the Eurovignette as applied in Germany until end
  of August 2003, the now existing toll charge can
  amount to 12,400 per vehicle and per year.
• Annual cost resulting from the Lkw-Maut can
  make up on average round 40 to 50 of the German
  annualized total tax and charge burden.
• The fact that the German truck toll applies only
  to HGV over a permissible maximum laden weight of
  12t caused a remarkable shift in the weight
  structure of newly registered HGV in Germany
  towards categories under 12t as those are
  exempted from the truck toll.
• Another, short-term evasion reaction reported for
  the German truck toll is the intensified use of
  road categories other than the Autobahn.