Gov’t believes Commissioner Kovacs statement hasty in relation to car tax

European Tax and Customs Commissioner Laszlo Kovacs has been hasty in relation to Romania’s tax on first registration of used cars, the Romanian Government believes.

Spokesperson for the Government Camelia Spataru on Friday said that the same is true for Kovacs’ statement that the car tax levied so far should be returned to the citizens.

Spataru argued that the car tax involved is in fact a tool to protect the environment in an attempt to limit carbon dioxide emissions, and it is in no way discriminatory, since it is levied on both cars made in Romania and imported ones.

‘In the current context in which the European Union is trying to impose severe rules for car generated pollution it would be surprising for Romania to be criticised just because it is trying to limit carbon dioxide emissions by this tax measure,’ said Spataru. She added that a task force was established within the EU to draw up uniform regulations for the car tax that also has a component for limiting the carbon dioxide emissions.

‘We can consider that Commissioner Kovacs’ statements have been hasty, because we do not know yet what the final decision will be if the matter is brought to the European Court of Justice,’ said Spataru.

The spokesperson argued that Romania is in no similar situation to Hungary, as Kovacs hinted, because the car tax in Romania is not levied only on imported cars. As for the returning of the car taxes to the Romanian citizens, Spataru said this is a hypothesis that cannot be considered for the time being.

Spataru reaffirmed Romania’s readiness to work together with experts of the European Commission to find out a solution that would be in line with the European environmental protection trends. She informed that Minister of Economy and Finance Varujan Vosganian will meet Commissioner Kovacs next week in Brussels to discuss the matter. ROMPRES