Car tax to turn green by end-January

During its last sitting in January, the government will reach the necessary decision for turning the car first registration tax from a fiscal into an environmental measure, Minister of the Environment and Sustainable Development (MMDD) Attila Korodi on Monday told Rompres.

'As soon as all this money is directed towards MMDD, it will be spent - apart from the car-scrap fleet renewal program - for other projects such as the one providing the cutback in CO2 emissions, forestation and reforestation projects, the establishment of green space in communities, the financing of renewable energy sources for housing or investments in industrial facilities,' said the Minister.

Until next week, the government will complete talks with European Commission experts on a new formula for the calculation of the first registration tax, after which it will start working on the normative act, Minister of Economy and Finance Varujan Vosganian told a press conference on Monday.

'The European Union clearly asked that a balance be maintained between the price paid for pollution and the market value of the car, a requirement which is about to be accomplished,' said the Minister.

Vosganian added that the Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development will manage all the money collected from the car tax, spending it for environmental projects.

The first registration tax came in force on January 1, 2007 and the Finance Ministry estimates revenues from this tax will exceed 220 million euro in 2007. Between January 1 - November 12, 2007, the first registration tax funnelled 210 million euro to the state budget, reveals data supplied to Rompres by the Ministry of Economy and Finance.

Rompres