France To Hit Polluting SUVs And Trucks With A $22,240 Tax

[cawimmer430]

 


France To Hit Polluting SUVs And Trucks With A $22,240 Tax

SUVs sold in France will soon be hit with large penalties if they emit carbon dioxide above a certain threshold, Bloomberg reports.

A new law voted by the nation's parliament will see high-polluting SUVs subject to a 20,000 euro ($22,240) penalty in 2020, up from the current penalty of 12,500 euros ($13,873).



Much like many other markets around the world, demand for SUVs across France continues to rise and in the first 11 months of this year, accounted for roughly 30 per cent of new vehicle sales, according to Paris-based consultancy Inovev. The French finance ministry believes the penalties applied to SUVs could generate 50 million euros ($55.4 million) a year in revenue for the government.

Interestingly, France intends on cutting subsidies for electric and hydrogen vehicles alongside the penalties that'll be applied to SUVs. In 2020, consumers will be provided up to 6,000 euros ($6,658) toward the purchase of an electric car priced below 45,000 euros ($49,936), but in 2021 and 2022, this benefit will be reduced.

The head of French lobby group PFA, Luc Chatel, says the policy is "incoherent."

"It's a double penalty for consumers. The electric-car market won't take off without strong purchasing incentives," he said. "Everyone has something to loose: The industry, the environment and the purchasing power of the French."

French paid out roughly 550 million euros last year in electric and hydrogen vehicle subsidies.


Link: https://www.carscoops.com/2019/12/france-to-hit-suvs-with-high-emissions-penalties-reduce-green-car-incentives/

[NomisR]

The French finance ministry believes the penalties applied to SUVs could generate 50 million euros ($55.4 million) a year in revenue for the government.

This is the key sentence in this whole thing... they don't really care about anything else, it's just an excuse.

[MX793]

Where do you think they are getting the money to pay for all of that "free stuff" their government offers the citizenry?

[cawimmer430]

This is the key sentence in this whole thing... they don't really care about anything else, it's just an excuse.

Precisely.

The same thing in Germany with the upcoming fuel price increases: it's all about generating revenue for the government. But the folks here are so stupid and think, "Hmm, if I pay a CO2 tax I can save the planet! Yay!" 

[AutobahnSHO]

But you ALSO have this ridiculous nonsense:

French paid out roughly 550 million euros last year in electric and hydrogen vehicle subsidies.

[CaminoRacer]

But you ALSO have this ridiculous nonsense:

I see nothing wrong with that if it reduces the pollution I breathe in every day.

[AutobahnSHO]

I see nothing wrong with that if it reduces the pollution I breathe in every day.

It doesn't (cuz France ) but that's an incredible amount of money for little practical effect..

[NomisR]

I see nothing wrong with that if it reduces the pollution I breathe in every day.

If they want to reduce pollution, they can always ban smoking because that's probably a bigger health hazard in France than car pollution...

[CaminoRacer]

If they want to reduce pollution, they can always ban smoking because that's probably a bigger health hazard in France than car pollution...

All for that too lol

[GoCougs]

I see nothing wrong with that if it reduces the pollution I breathe in every day.

So much wrong with it, it's sorta hard to know where to start. But as with All Things, asking questions isn't a bad way to go about it:

Who was the $550MM stolen from?
What could have been done, from an environmental POV, with that $550M?

[NomisR]

So much wrong with it, it's sorta hard to know where to start. But as with All Things, asking questions isn't a bad way to go about it:

Who was the $550MM stolen from?
What could have been done, from an environmental POV, with that $550M?

Planting $550M worth of tree would probably do more to benefit the environment than EV would have.

[GoCougs]

Planting $550M worth of tree would probably do more to benefit the environment than EV would have.

Or automakers to make ICE engines cleaner. Who knows.

[cawimmer430]

If they want to reduce pollution, they can always ban smoking because that's probably a bigger health hazard in France than car pollution...

This is something I've been whining about for years.

If the government truly cared about our health they'd ban smoking. Not ban it in public or relegate it to so-called "smoking rooms", but outright, totally and definitively ban it while shutting down the factories and companies which produce cigarettes, cigars etc. Bam! Banned.

But hey, the government makes so much money from the tobacco tax here. It's also funny when I pass by my favorite small beer garden in Munich and there are some folks there who bitch about the emissions from cars - while dragging on a cigarette and exhaling that filth in my face.     

[giant_mtb]

The gubment makes money on tobacco tax but then how much are they shelling out for health care on tobacco-related illness and disease...

[cawimmer430]

The gubment makes money on tobacco tax but then how much are they shelling out for health care on tobacco-related illness and disease...

I recently read that in Germany alone smokers and their health problems cause up to 80 billion Euros worth of health costs per year, and that this figure represents 2.8% of the German gross domestic product. Smoking is a serious problem in Germany, especially among the young people.

Some insurances won't pay if you have a smoking-related illness, which basically means "You knew the risks and consequences and you still smoked. Tough luck."

[NomisR]

The gubment makes money on tobacco tax but then how much are they shelling out for health care on tobacco-related illness and disease...

It's a cost benefit thing, I think they've figured out that in the long run, it's cheaper for the cigarettes to kill people at a younger age than for them to live to an old age and having to pay for those type of healthcare. 

[cawimmer430]

It's a cost benefit thing, I think they've figured out that in the long run, it's cheaper for the cigarettes to kill people at a younger age than for them to live to an old age and having to pay for those type of healthcare. 

Cigarette smoking is great for protecting the climate: less people, less CO2!

[GoCougs]

It's a cost benefit thing, I think they've figured out that in the long run, it's cheaper for the cigarettes to kill people at a younger age than for them to live to an old age and having to pay for those type of healthcare. 

In times past perhaps, but in modern times, with cancer treatments and heart surgery and lung transplants and the like, the end-of-life medical costs have to be absolutely staggering for the average smoker. Smoking still kills 400,000+ Americanos a year, and many millions have cancer and heart and lung disease because of it. 

[giant_mtb]

End of life medical costs are enormous no matter what. Shit, I heard somebody bitchin' at the bar the other day how the nursing home their mom is at costs about $360 a day. That's insane money for the average person. 

[AutobahnSHO]

I'm surprised how quickly smoking is dying out here in the US but it was always way huger in Europe...

[giant_mtb]

I'm surprised how quickly smoking is dying out here in the US but it was always way huger in Europe...

Denser population. More stress.

[veeman]

You cannot effectively ban smoking.  How would you enforce that in people's private property?  You would have created a billion dollar plus black market and all the crime associated with that.

SUVs are not necessary (unlike a pickup or work van for many vocations) and have a larger carbon footprint than small cars so it makes sense to tax them heavily if you want to reduce your carbon footprint.  Once the price of electric cars comes down and their range goes up, I'm sure they'll start increasing the tax burden on all ICE cars.  It's just as effective to heavily tax ICE vehicles as it is to give a large govt sponsored discount to buy EV.  In the first scenario the govt makes money.  In the second scenario the govt shells out money. 

[r0tor]

If you believe in capitalism, then the only solution to pollution is taxing people out the ass as pricing of products will never take into consideration associated health and long term environmental damage.


If you believe in regulation, more practical and probably effective fixes can be done.

[GoCougs]

If you believe in taxation you believe in theft and fascism, which by definition is NOT capitalism.

[Soup DeVille]

Not when you define capitalism as "everything I don't like," which appears to be a very popular interpretation.

[GoCougs]

Nah, once you understand what capitalism is, the answers (like that regarding r0tor's mixup of terms) tell themselves.

[r0tor]

Nah, once you understand what capitalism is, the answers (like that regarding r0tor's mixup of terms) tell themselves.

Capitalism... A short sighted scam created by the uber rich?  That one?

[Soup DeVille]

Not when you define capitalism as "everything I don't like," which appears to be a very popular interpretation.

Capitalism... A short sighted scam created by the uber rich?  That one?

You make this too easy.

[Laconian]

From TTAC...

"After 2030, European carmakers must achieve average vehicle emissions of just 59 grams of CO2 per kilometer (which translates to about 105 miles per gallon, if you're driving a diesel) to avoid penalties. Many claim the rule basically forces automakers to shift away from internal combustion motors entirely."

That's impossible! Just say "EVs only".

[Soup DeVille]

From TTAC...

"After 2030, European carmakers must achieve average vehicle emissions of just 59 grams of CO2 per kilometer (which translates to about 105 miles per gallon, if you're driving a diesel) to avoid penalties. Many claim the rule basically forces automakers to shift away from internal combustion motors entirely."

That's impossible! Just say "EVs only".

What does it say about motorcycles?