German Plan to Tax Cars on Emissions Gets Wary Nod

[struggle4progress]

Environment | 19.02.2007

Plans by the German government to tax cars based on emissions instead of engine size in a bid to encourage carmakers to design "greener" cars have met with a cautious welcome.

German Transport Minister Wolfgang Tiefensee insisted Monday that a planned flat tax on cars based on emissions would not impose a financial burden on car owners. "The aim is not to make more money, but to do something for the environment," he said.

Tiefensee pointed out that the levy would instead replace an existing tax that rises in step with the cubic capacity of a car's engine.

"Overall car owners will not pay more taxes that they have until now," said Sigmar Gabriel, the country's environment minister ...

http://www.worldpress.org/link.cfm?http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,2144,2356253,00.html