[sustran] Re: [bnet] France to Impose Green Tax on Big Cars

Prabha Krishnan prabha_k at vsnl.com
Sat Jun 26 19:55:01 JST 2004


This issue is complex. When Maruti started manufacture it was a "peoples car
 - implication being when we have more moolah we "graduate" to better,
bigger cars.
Big cars have aspiration value. In my building the watchmen routinely stand
up to greet visitors in big cars - the same courtesy doesn't extend to
people like us in small cars.
Taxes are easily avoidable by this class of big people in big cars. THe big
car manufacturers are also policy makers. 
As such, ecofreindly mass transport wil be a distant dream. 
 
-------Original Message-------
 
From: bombaynet at yahoogroups.com
Date: 06/26/04 13:48:01
To: sustran discuss; NewMobilityCafe
Cc: bombaynet at yahoogroups.com; Harshad J. Kamdar
Subject: [bnet] France to Impose Green Tax on Big Cars
 
Dear Colleagues,
 
We should welcome and applaud the French proposal to impose Green
Tax  on Big Cars in view of increasing quantum of air exhaust in
crowded human settlements.   This is possibly the first time that such a
move being taken by the authorities to curb polution.
 
  Vehicle registration taxes worked out on the laden weight of the vehicle
to be  paid at the time of putting  the vehicle on the road are comon
however they are  found to be inadequate to curb increasing air pollution.
 
One time tax as proposed may not be appropriate. To achieve the object
of ensuring minimum health, what is required in addition is a Pollution
Tax tagged to the petrol/diesel/gas consumption. That would also curb
the use of vehicle  after paying the first tax. The realisation of Pollution
Tax  can be utilised to run medical care  centres for cardiovaswcular and
related  diseases as well as curtail the use of finite resource.    Taxes
should be applicable throughout  the designated area, say the EU, France etc
so that no vehicle  can escapes payment of these taxes.
 
One time tax proposed for Paris would not control the pollution because
the vehicle owner after paying  the initial tax payable at the time of
purchase
would soon forget the payment altogether and use the costier vehicle more
vengefully to the further loss to the community.
 
Along with Pollution Tax, authorities should consider levying Congestion Tax
to be  paid on the basis of actual furl coinsumption.  Rates for taxes may
be
different for different fuels, say more for diesel in personal cars, to
encourage
the change over to less polluting fuels.   Congrstion Tax reciepts can be
utilised for improving  pedestrian movmeent facilites. In the fast growing
motorisation,  pedestrian safety and convenience get the lowest priority.
 
Thje SUVs and 4D vehicles should be charged tae Congestion and Pollution
Taxes at a higher rate than personal cars.
 
Let us hope that tax in London brought by the Mayor and the tax proposed
in France become the herbinger of improved environment and higher
human  safety. Thanks Sujit for bringing the matter to our notice. Best
wishes.
 
Kisan Meheta
Save Bombay Committee
620 Jame Jamshed Road,
Mumbai 400014
Tel:  00 91 22 2414 9688
 
----- Original Message -----
 
DAILY GRIST
24 Jun 2004
Environmental news from GRIST MAGAZINE
<http://www.gristmagazine.com>
 
 
OFF WITH THEIR HEADLIGHTS!
France to Impose Green Tax on Big Cars
 
A new green road tax unveiled by the French environment ministry would
provide rebates for those who buy small, fuel-efficient cars by taxing
buyers of large, gas-guzzling cars and trucks.  The scheme would divide
vehicles into five categories based on how much they pollute. The middle
category -- largely mid-size family sedans -- would be subject to neither
tax nor rebate, but purchasers of vehicles in the upper two categories
would pay taxes (up to $4,000 or more), while those buying in the lower two
would receive rebates.  The move comes on the heels of Paris' attempt to
ban large 4x4s from its streets.  City council member Denis Baupin said,
"They're polluters, they're space-occupiers, they're dangerous for
pedestrians and other road users. They're a caricature of a car."  (You can
imagine a U.S. politician saying that, right?) According to Franceís
Environmental Health and Safety Agency, some 7 percent of premature deaths
from respiratory and cardiovascular illnesses in the country, or 30,000 a
year, are due to exhaust-related pollution.  "[T]he government can no
longer remain indifferent," said Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin.
 
straight to the source:  The Guardian, Jon Henley, 23 Jun 2004
<http://www.gristmagazine.com/cgi-bin/forward.pl?forward_id=2661>
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
-----------
 
 
 
------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~-->
Yahoo! Domains - Claim yours for only $14.70
http://us.click.yahoo.com/Z1wmxD/DREIAA/yQLSAA/xYTolB/TM
--------------------------------------------------------------------~->
 
Where The Mind is Without Fear
Rabindranath Tagore
 
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
--
 
 
Where the mind is without fear and the head is held high
Where knowledge is free
Where the world has not been broken up into fragments
By narrow domestic walls
Where words come out from the depth of truth
Where tireless striving stretches its arms towards perfection
Where the clear stream of reason has not lost its way
Into the dreary desert sand of dead habit
Where the mind is led forward by thee
Into ever-widening thought and action
Into that heaven of freedom, my Father, let my country awake
 
Yahoo! Groups Links
 
<*> To visit your group on the web, go to:
     http://groups.yahoo.com/group/bombaynet/
 
<*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
     bombaynet-unsubscribe at yahoogroups.com
 
<*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to:
     http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
 
 
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://list.jca.apc.org/manage/private/sustran-discuss/attachments/20040626/f68789cd/attachment.html
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: IMSTP.gif
Type: image/gif
Size: 494 bytes
Desc: not available
Url : http://list.jca.apc.org/manage/private/sustran-discuss/attachments/20040626/f68789cd/IMSTP.gif


More information about the Sustran-discuss mailing list