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Romanian Govt May Cut Pollution Tax For New Cars To Tackle Used Cars Imports

Romania's Government plans to suspend for three to six months the pollution tax for the acquisition of new cars in order to limit the imports of used cars, Prime Minister Calin Popescu Tariceanu said Monday.
Romanian Govt May Cut Pollution Tax For New Cars To Tackle Used Cars Imports
17 nov. 2008, 18:52, English

“The imports of second-hand cars is killing the local market. (…) I will have a talk with the president over this subject and we will decide shortly on measures to limit these imports. The most efficient would be to suspend imports by annulling the tax for new car purchases. Practically, we will keep the tax only for second-hand cars,” Tariceanu said.
 
Earlier Monday, Romanian President Traian Basescu also said, after a visit at car factory Dacia, owned by France’s Renault, that a solution to the crisis that is affecting the local auto industry would be a temporary tax exemption for new cars.
 
The international financial crisis has affected several sectors of the Romanian economy, including the automotive industry, where companies like Dacia, owned by Renault, have interrupted several times their production, citing lower demand in the local market, due to the pollution tax applied for new car purchases.
 
In Romania, the number of new second-hand cars imported in January-September period rose 104.8% on the year to 205,086 units, while new car registrations fell 2.4% in the same period.
 
Last week, Dacia general manager Francois Fourmont said sharp decreases in new car sales due to the massive used car imports might force several of Dacia’s dealers and suppliers to scrap jobs or even drive them out of business if the situation worsens.