Those who drive more than 10,000 kilometres per year will have to pay more.
The Ministry of Environmental Protection and Nature intends to propose to the government an increase in environmental taxes for those passenger vehicles which annually cover more than 10,000 kilometres. The increase would amount to between 15 to 40 kuna per year, depending on the distance covered and the amount of carbon dioxide emissions, reports Poslovni.hr on October 4, 2016.
If the government adopts the proposal, environmental taxes for passenger cars would increase only for vehicles whose owners annually cover more than 10,000 kilometres, said the Ministry in a statement. For vehicles whose owners annually drive between 10,000 to 20,000 kilometres, the taxes would on average increase by 15 kuna, for those who drive between 20,000 to 30,000 kilometres they would increase by 30 kuna per year, while those who drive more than 30,000 kilometres would pay 40 kuna more per year.
The Ministry pointed out that passenger cars in Croatia on average cover 12,000 kilometres a year, and that 75 percent of passenger cars are below the limit of 20,000 kilometres. They added that the proposed changes would establish a fairer calculation model which would take into account the fundamental principle of environmental protection – those who pollute should pay for it.
The Ministry pointed out that the purpose of the amendments was to reduce carbon dioxide emissions and increase the number of vehicles with less than 90 or 100 grams of carbon dioxide emissions per kilometre. Until just a few years ago, such vehicles were a rare sight on Croatian roads, but now they are omnipresent, said the Ministry.
However, transportation expert Željko Marušić said that the increase was a mistake “which leads to a dead end, although the intention was good”. He added that the right thing to do would be to move towards general promotion of environmentally sound transportation solutions, such as introducing lower excise duties on new environmentally friendly vehicles. He said that drivers who drive more were already paying higher taxes when they buy fuel to cover all those additional kilometres.
