Holder of cars those with high CO2 emissions will have to be prepared for rising vehicle tax costs in the future. In contrast, particularly environmentally friendly vehicles will be relieved by the tax reform passed by the Bundestag on Thursday. In addition, the tax exemption for Electric vehicles extended until the end of 2030.
The new regulation is part of the decision made by the federal government last year Climate package. It provides for a progressive CO2 tariff for vehicle tax. For cars newly registered from 2021 that emit more than 95 grams of CO2 per kilometer, a surcharge of two euros is to be levied on the otherwise calculated tax burden for each additional gram.
The surcharge will then gradually increase to up to four euros per additional gram of CO2 for vehicles with particularly high CO2 emissions of more than 195 grams per kilometer. For cars registered from June 2020 to the end of 2024 with less than 95 grams of CO2 emissions, there is to be an annual tax bonus of 30 euros for a maximum of five years.
The tax exemption for purely electric vehicles should apply to all electric cars that are registered by the end of 2025. As before, it applies for up to ten years, but no later than the end of 2030. In the introduction to the draft law, the goal is confirmed in Germany register seven to ten million electric vehicles by 2030.
The planned abolition of a special regulation for the taxation of certain light commercial vehicles is also intended to relieve medium-sized companies.
The Federal Government justifies the restriction of the reform to new registrations with the fact that owners of existing cars should not be burdened excessively, but they should be given the opportunity to change direction when buying new cars.
Greens speak of “poor reform”
The Greens criticized the steering effect achievable with the new regulation as too low. Green parliamentary deputy Oliver Krischer (51) told the German Press Agency: “With its poor reform, the federal government will hardly accelerate the switch to clean electric cars or more economical cars.”
A study by the Ecological-Social Market Economy Forum on behalf of the Green parliamentary group comes to the conclusion that the reform planned by the federal government is not ambitious enough to have such a steering effect – namely, to encourage customers to buy vehicles with lower emissions.
On average, the vehicle tax increases by 15.80 euros per year, with many cars nothing changes. In a European comparison, Germany has low CO2-based vehicle taxes, but at the same time new vehicles in Germany emit the most CO2.
The transport expert of the Federation for the Environment and Nature Conservation Germany (BUND), Jens Hilgenberg, said that the reform is not much more than actionism. “There are hardly any incentives to buy lower-emission or even so-called locally emission-free vehicles instead of highly emitting bodies. Driving cars with high fuel consumption must, however, become significantly more expensive and less attractive if the federal government is serious about climate protection.”
ADAC traffic president Gerhard Hillebrand also stated that the current reform could only be a first step. “Looking ahead, we have to systematically and completely align vehicle tax with CO2 emissions in order to achieve an optimal steering effect.” Nevertheless, the present draft law is an acceptable compromise between more incentives for climate protection and affordable mobility.