Brussels, 01/09/2004 (Agence Europe) - The European Commission intends to present proposals in the near future on harmonising tax on cars, confirmed its Director General for Taxation, Robert Verrue, speaking to the European Parliament's economic and monetary committee. However, "this is a subject on which the Court of Justice has returned conclusions which must be examined", he said. Furthermore, the Commission is starting the analysis of the positions communicated to it under the consultation launched in July and ending on 10 September (see EUROPE of 23 July) and impact studies are underway, he added.
The Commission would like to phase out registration taxes applied by ten Member States, and bring in a new tax structure linked to CO2 emissions. In order to ensure budgetary neutrality, the registration tax could be channelled into the road tax, it believes. The aim is to avoid double taxation. In the meantime, it suggests the introduction of a system to refund the tax between the Member States.
Due to a lack of support from the Member States, the Commission has brought several cases before the Court of Justice. A ruling from last July confirmed that Finland has the right to impose a car tax related to the vehicle's mileage rather than its being imported into the country.