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The Netherlands: No Road Tax, Motorcycles Exempt, Less Cars on The Road |
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File under News Travel
Author: Mike Werner
Location: Normandy, France
Via: Nieuws Motor.nl
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The Dutch are coming up with a new way to tax their people. Normally in most European countries, cars are taxed when sold, plus they pay a road tax - an annual tax depending on your car weight or power.
The government in the Low Lands (The Netherlands) have voted in a new law that will remove the sales and road tax in favor of a pay-as-you-go tax.
In other words, the more kilometers you drive, the more you pay. The idea is to prevent people from making unnecessary trips with their vehicles, thereby reducing CO2 and diminishing traffic jams.
Initially, cars will have to pay €0.03 per kilometer (about US$0.07 per mile) , which will probably be raised to €0.07 (about US$0.16 per mile). The idea is to have your mileage recorded by means of an installed GPS .
The GPS will be limited in functionality, in other words the Government will not be able to see how fast you went, and where you went, just the mileage (honest ... the check is in the mail). Foreign cars will also be taxed, but the way has not been published.
Here's the good news. Motorcycles do not need to pay any taxes! That's right, for once, motorcycle riders are on the good side of a law. However, according to experts, this will mean an increase in the number of bikers, and therefore an increase of the number of road fatalities amongst motorcycle riders.
The new "green" road tax system ("green" for money, or green of 10% less pollution??) will become active in 2012. I wonder who gets the contract for the GPS?
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