Romanian Carmakers Want Car Tax Kept Until 2010

Romania’s Automotive Manufacturers and Importers Association, or APIA, urged the authorities to maintain the existing tax on car’s first registration until the end of the year, arguing the proposed yearly tax is not a solution to aid the auto industry.

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A possible modification of the tax “cannot have positive effects,” APIA vice-president Brent Valmar said Thursday during an auto seminar organized by MEDIAFAX.

Replacing the tax with an annual levy would “punish very many owners of old cars,” Valmar said.

He said the authorities should stimulate the demand of new cars and restrict imports of old ones.

In addition, Valmar called for easier access to household lending, in a move aimed to “restart financing and industry engines.”

The car industry requires support, as its regress will affect other economy sectors as well, Valmar mentioned.

“We are talking about billions of euros contracted by distribution networks, services. If these providers sink, we will face bankruptcies, as they will fail to meet loan dates or they will not be able to pay at all, so the banking system will suffer, as well as insurance and advertising sectors,” Valmar said.

According to Dan Carlan, secretary of state with the Ministry of Environment, said in reply that the car tax will remain unchanged until the end of the year.

In 2010, however, the car tax will be replaced, Carlan said.

He said the existing tax is discriminatory.

“We levy taxes only on those who buy cars during this period, and not on all polluters. We will seek to consider all priorities so that the new formula will be fair. We will try to apply it without making discriminations,” Carlan mentioned.

In February, Romanian Environment Minister Nicolae Nemirschi said the tax on car’s first registration, the so-called pollution tax, might be replaced with an annual levy, based on the pollution level of the car.

According to Nemirschi, the new tax will be based on the principle "the pollutant pays", which means that the more pollution a car produces, the more will the owner pay.

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