Isamaa leader pledges to turn back vehicle tax if elected

Head of the opposition Isamaa party Urmas Reinsalu promised at the party's council meeting in Tartu that if Isamaa comes to power in Estonia, the car tax will be abolished.
Reinsalu stated that the government led by Kristen Michal (Reform) has, in just six months, reached a level of dysfunction that took Kaja Kallas (Reform) a full year to achieve. According to Reinsalu, the societal upheaval surrounding Estonia's vehicle tax is proof of the government's failure.
"Some people are bewildered: the registration fee for selling their car is higher than the vehicle's market value. We are faced with an absurd situation, which the leaders of the coalition parties are attempting to dodge through obfuscation. On Thursday, Michal announced that he was personally critical of the car tax. No need to be modest, Mr. Prime Minister. The Estonian Car Owners' Association named Michal 'Enemy of Car Owners 2024' because, at his insistence, the car tax's revenue target was doubled — from the original €120 million to €240 million — under the pretext of meeting climate goals," said Reinsalu.
He added that as recently as Wednesday, the current coalition voted in parliament to reject Isamaa's proposal to repeal the car tax, which would have annulled the already-issued tax notices. Reinsalu pledged that Isamaa would resubmit the proposal and symbolically signed the party's promise to abolish the car tax if it comes to power.
According to the Isamaa leader, under Prime Minister Michal, Estonia has been hit by a "tax tornado" that overshadows even the "tax storms" of Kaja Kallas' last government. "The combined policies of the two prime ministers, Michal and Kallas, will take away an entire month's salary this year from an average Estonian earning the median wage," Reinsalu stated.
"Michal's government has objectively failed. The point Kallas reached after a year as prime minister has been reached by Michal's trio in just six months," he added.
Reinsalu concluded by emphasizing Isamaa's mission: "Our task is to restore people's courage and hope that political change in Estonia is possible."
Isamaa: The government needs to give up ideology-driven energy policy
Isamaa also adopted a political declaration at its council meeting, urging the government to abandon its "ideological energy policy."
"The current Estonian government has chosen a misguided approach to shaping energy policy. This creates uncertainty and instability for the future while limiting the prospects for economic development. The draft energy management development plan prepared by the minister of climate sets the primary goal of producing renewable energy in quantities sufficient to meet total consumption by 2030, with energy policy decisions being made accordingly," the declaration stated
"This approach to energy policy is deemed unrealistic by experts, raises concerns about supply security and results in unpredictable pricing alongside massive subsidies at the expense of energy consumers," the party noted.
"Isamaa calls on the government to abandon ideological energy policy," the declaration emphasized.
Additionally, Isamaa urged the government to adjust its primary energy policy goal to prioritize supply security and competitive pricing.
"At present, the government must ensure full oil shale energy production capacity and initiate negotiations at the European Union level to reform the Emissions Trading System (ETS), taking into account the call from Poland's prime minister, as chair of the EU, to reform the ETS," the party added.
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Editor: Aleksander Krjukov, Marcus Turovski