Car tax dropped for now, to be reconsidered next year
Minister of Finance Sven Sester (IRL) took back his proposal to introduce a registration tax on cars based on carbon emissions. The revenue originally projected to come from the new tax will be replaced with dividend payments by Eesti Energia.
Sester told ERR on Monday morning that he had requested that the Riigikogu’s Financial Committee take the proposed car tax out of the package of the new government’s proposed tax changes, with a view to reintroducing it in the new year.
“Over the past week a lot of very different proposals have been made by parties that are connected to the registration of cars and their insurance. We’ll come back to the issue at the beginning of the year,” the minister said, adding that they were reviewing whether to base the tax on car’s emissions, or rather on power.
That the proposed tax was taken back now wasn’t anything the government needed to be ashamed of, Sester said. That other contributions were considered was part of the new culture the coalition wanted to introduce. “If there are good ideas that make things better, we’ll take the time and come back stronger and better,” he added.
The hole in next year’s budgeted revenue left by taking out the new tax would be covered with dividends paid out by Eesti Energia, the minister said.
Editor: Editor: Dario Cavegn