Germany has the worst policies in the EU when it comes to taxing the most polluting company vehicles, particularly SUVs (Sport Utility Vehicles), according to a study by the think-tank Transport & Environment (T&E) published on Wednesday 23 April.
The difference in tax that companies pay for a petrol car compared to an electric vehicle is almost €9,000 over four years. Germany is one of seven EU countries that has not yet introduced a purchase tax on petrol cars. For company car taxation in particular, it still offers value added tax (VAT) deductions and applies high depreciation allowances for combustion engine vehicles. As a result, 40% of company vehicles sold in the EU, in this case heavier, combustion-engined SUVs, end up on the German market. Poland, Spain and Italy also lag behind their neighbours when it comes to designing a green tax system.
In contrast, France, Portugal and Slovenia have much more environmentally-friendly tax systems, taxing company cars according to their CO2 emissions and weight. In comparison, the difference in tax that companies pay for a petrol car compared with an electric vehicle is more than €24,000 over four years in France.
The idea of setting binding targets for the electrification of company fleets is currently being discussed at European level (see EUROPE 13623/12).
To read the study, go to https://aeur.eu/f/ghr (Original version in French by Anne Damiani)