Always on the little ones

Always on the little ones

And all of this after the motor-related insurance tax was “greened” last year, i.e. CO2 emissions were included in the calculation, which made numerous vehicles more expensive to maintain.

Attempts to make transport responsible for climate protection cannot, in principle, be condemned. However, the way this is happening is a joke. And a bad one at that.

Both the operation and ownership of cars are taxed more heavily, regardless of losses. Without thinking the matter through. Who will bleed at the end of the day: the rich with their sports cars and high-horsepower SUVs? The big corporations with their fleets? Hardly! For the former, the additional costs cost a tired smile and for the latter they are even more peanuts. In addition, these target groups in particular can sometimes easily avoid new taxes by, for example, purchasing and registering vehicles abroad.

No, the little ones will suffer: commuters from rural regions who are dependent on cars due to a lack of connections to the public transport network and who inevitably travel many kilometers a year. The dimensions of the mineral oil tax (MöSt) alone are worrying: Environment Minister Eleonore Gewessler has announced a 50 percent increase in the MöSt as the final consequence. According to ARBÖ calculations, this alone would result in an additional annual burden of around 300 euros for drivers.

Raising the motor-related insurance tax (mVSt) at the same time is a mess. This is especially true since the automatic tax increase passed in 2019 will lead to further increases in car taxes in 2021. According to motorists' clubs, the mVSt for almost all cars that will be registered for the first time from January 1, 2021 will be higher than last year. 

Delivery vans become a luxury item

And now the standard consumption tax (NoVA) is being extended to light commercial vehicles. This also affects the small ones, namely small and medium-sized companies (SMEs), who suddenly have to pay many thousands of euros more for a delivery van. The Austrian Fleet Association has calculated that, for example, an Opel Movano, which currently costs 42,647 euros, will already cost 73,545 euros in 2024. This corresponds to an increase in price of 72 percent!

Now this is a vehicle that you don't buy for fun and games, but because you simply need it. Like a tool. In this respect, you could also introduce a new tax on cordless screwdrivers or work gloves. As far as the delivery van is concerned, – unlike perhaps private cars – there are hardly any alternatives here. Especially in the commercial vehicle sector, the electrically powered alternatives cannot yet achieve what many users would need in terms of payload, range and charging power.

In many cases, SMEs are still dependent on commercial vehicles with combustion engines. These smaller companies in particular are the much-vaunted backbone of the local economy. Quite a few of these companies are receiving government support in the wake of the Corona crisis. Distributing tax fraud on the other side now of all times is more than cynical.  

Is the government perhaps only interested in filling up its cash-strapped coffers? In any case, the postulated steering purpose of this tax policy cannot be recognized. Instead of automatic tax increases, positive incentives would be needed. For example, an eco-bonus for the scrapping of old vehicles, as the vehicle trade has been demanding for a long time. That would also stimulate the economy and help consumers.

But in this way the opposite is achieved: in view of the significant increases in prices, many companies will - this is supported by surveys - continue to operate the old stinkers that the Vice Chancellor has declared war on.

It is also incomprehensible that alternative technologies such as synthetic fuels do not play a role in the government's tax plans. Industry representatives and motorists' clubs rightly criticize all of this. To conclude with the words of Burkhard Ernst, chairman of the “My Car” association: “This tax reform is neither ecological nor social because it is being carried out on the backs of those who depend on their cars.”