Organisation

1. Dominika KalinowskaHartmut KuhfeldUwe Kunert(DIW Berlin, Germany)Comparison of EU truck taxationPresentation at the COST Action 355 Meeting PiraeusApril 18 - 19 2006

2. 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.

3. 12 t 18 t 40 t 40 t 7.5 t 2.8 t Existing truck and van classes

4. 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.

5. Systematisationcriteria 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

6. Overview of existing tax categories for commercial vehicles

7. 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

8. 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%.

9. Cross-EU tax and charge comparison – vans 2.8 t

10. Cross-EU tax and charge comparison – HGV 7.5 t

11. Cross-EU tax and charge comparison – HFVC 40 t

12. Spread of circulation tax inside Europe

13. 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 2005from 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).

14. Fuel price components in Europe

15. 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”.

16. Excursus: newly registered HGV in Germany

17. 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”.