Car Tax Research Articles

Making green discourses matter in policy-making: Learning from discursive power struggles within the policy area of car taxation

This paper is about stability and change in the policy-making discourse of a traditional neoclassical policy area, the area of car taxation. Stability is here related to the unquestioned continuation of a traditional neoclassical economics perspective in policy-making, whereas change is related to the introduction and impact of environmental concerns. The aim of the paper is to investigate, what makes green discourses matter in traditional policy-making. It is based on an in-depth study of policy-making processes related to car taxation in two environmental front-runner countries, Sweden and Denmark. Making green discourses matter in policy-making is an important contemporary environmental challenge. Therefore, as Tian Shi argues, we need more research into the institutional setting of the policy-making process. Ecological economics as a policy science has to have a broad understanding of the political economic nature of the policy process. Taking this standpoint as the point of departure, the paper seeks to uncover questions such as, what is the policy-making reality in which Swedish and Danish green discourses have to make a difference? How do existing neoclassical regimes react, when green actors attempt to influence policy-making from an environmental point of view? And to what extent can green discourses actually have an impact on the policy world within the area of car taxation? The paper concludes that the traditional neoclassical economic discourse is particularly robust and resistant against alternative green discourses. Stability rather than change is the dominating picture. This does not imply that environmental concerns will not be taken into account in the future. Rather it implies that only the changes, which keep up the existing order, or enhance the narrow power-related interests of the dominating actors, will materialise more or less easily. The rest is a power struggle in which timing, coalition-building, persistence and thorough knowledge about the field in question is of importance. In this struggle change agents will also benefit from the ability to rethink dominating ways of thinking and doing in an environmentally benign way. A rethinking that is based on environmental values while at the same time holding positive visions that are ‘compatible’ with the existing dominating discourse.

Optimal taxation of car ownership, car use and public transport: Insights derived from a discrete choice numerical optimization model

We formulated and numerically evaluated a model of car ownership, car use and public transport use for peak and off-peak hours of the day. The model was used to study the optimal tax structure for passenger transport in Belgium, with special emphasis on the optimal tax treatment of diesel versus gasoline cars. We obtained a number of interesting results. First, if the government can set all fixed and variable transport taxes optimally, the higher marginal external cost of diesel use implies that the optimal tax per kilometre for the use of a diesel car is higher than for the use of a gasoline car. Moreover, high congestion implies that the taxes on car use in the peak period are more than twice their current levels. However, the optimal tax on ownership of a diesel car is some 200€ below its current level. Second, if the government uses kilometre taxes that do not differentiate between fuel types, the optimal ownership tax on a diesel car is twice as high as the tax on a gasoline car. Furthermore, if political constraints restrict user taxes to their current levels, we find that optimal ownership taxes on diesel cars double, whereas those on gasoline cars rise by 30%. Finally, subsidies to public transport are found to be optimal as long as variable car taxes are not differentiated between periods.

Have Public Finance Principles Been Shut Out in Financing New Stadiums for the Nfl?

Over the past 15 years, new stadiums in the National Football League have been built at an unprecedented rate, and most new facilities have utilized significant public funds. This paper looks at whether the methods used to finance these new facilities honored public finance principles regarding equity and efficiency. While some common sources of public funds for sports infrastructure such as ticket taxes and personal seat licenses are both equitable and efficient, an examination of the 20 NFL stadiums constructed or refurbished since 1992 reveals a trend towards an increased reliance on taxation of visitors through hotel and rental car taxes. Although taxation of persons living outside one's own metropolitan area is appealing, this paper suggests that these sources of funding are neither equitable nor efficient.

Transport Policy and Transport Tax Reform

We are now entering a new phase of transport policy fiscal instruments. Rather than reforming existing measures, the UK and several other countries are moving towards replacing the whole transport taxation regime. This article reviews the ways that car taxation is used internationally to promote fuel economy, cleaner fuels and reduce traffic growth. Fiscal measures to manage traffic growth in the UK have faced political difficulties and, since 2000, have given way to a somewhat random set of policy decisions, together with a shift in focus towards the dominant issue of congestion reduction. An eventual replacement of existing car taxation measures with a new national road user charging regime is now contemplated, but there is a danger that the confusion in purpose that now characterizes transport taxation policy could be carried over to the new regime.

1407 二酸化炭素排出量削減を考慮した共創的制度設計に関する研究(OS1 ソフト人工物II)

Today, environmental issues, such as global warming caused by greenhouse gases, has been emerged as globally emergent issues and governments are expected to take measures to solve these issues. Greening of the automobile tax system, environmental tax, and changes in car tax rate are examples of these measures studied recently. In this study, we propose Co-Creative Institutional Design that creates effective institution resulting from interaction between the institutional designer and the whole system. The emergence of car tax rates considering the reduction of carbon-dioxide emissions by applying Co-Creative Institutional Design to the car tax system is confirmed from the result of computer simulation.

OPTIMAL TAXATION ON MIXED DIAMOND GOODS: IMPLICATIONS FOR PRIVATE CAR OWNERSHIP IN CHINA

Abstract. The ‘diamond effect’ exists when a consumer's utility depends on the exchange value, not just on the intrinsic consumption effects of the good. Yew‐Kwang Ng has discussed the optimal tax on a pure ‘diamond’ good. This paper extends Ng's model to cover mixed diamond goods. It uses three mathematical models to show that the optimal tax on a mixed diamond good with both intrinsic and diamond effects depends on the proportion of the diamond effect. The result may explain the violation of the Ramsey Rule in practice, and may be used to formulate private car taxes in China.

An Indirect Utility Model of Multiple Car Ownership and Use

The number of households with two or more cars is steadily increasing over time. The reason is that ownership of a single car imposes restrictions on car use when there are multiple license holders in a household. If such restrictions are severe, the benefits of multiple-car ownership may exceed the additional costs involved. In this paper, we develop a model that is based on the idea that limited substitutability between car use of different drivers is the driving force behind multiple-car ownership. We formulate a model structure in which households can own and use multiple cars. This approach is used to generalize an existing model for ownership and use of a single car two multiple car ownership and use. The extended model is estimated on Dutch data concerning households with one or two cars. An application to the effects of shifting the burden of car taxes from fixed to variable costs is provided.

Cost–benefit analyses of walking and cycling track networks taking into account insecurity, health effects and external costs of motorized traffic

The study presents cost–benefit analyses of walking and cycling track networks in three Norwegian cities. The cost–benefit analyses take into account the benefit of reduced insecurity and the health benefits of the improved fitness the use of non-motorized transport provides. In addition to reductions in health costs, the analyses also take into account that a change from travel by car to cycling or walking means reduced external costs (e.g. air pollution and noise) from motorized traffic and reduced parking costs. The benefits of investments in cycle networks are estimated to be at least 4–5 times the costs. Such investments are thus more beneficial to society than other transport investments. The results of such complete cost–benefit analyses make it possible to calculate the benefits to society that are not realized because motorized traffic prevents people from bicycling or walking as much as they otherwise would prefer. These “barrier costs” attributable to motorized traffic are estimated to be of at least the same magnitude as air pollution costs and more than double the noise costs. Barrier costs should therefore be taken into account in the same way as other external costs, when the issue is to determine the proper level of car taxes or to evaluate different kinds of restrictions on car use.

E-commerce innovation in the Veneto region: sociotechnical alignment in the context of a public administration

The paper discusses the emergence and development of e-commerce in a government context. Recently, the region of Veneto has implemented "Bollo Auto" - the payment of car taxes through a digital network making use of lottery terminals located in the popular tobacco shops ("tabacchinos"). This paper examines this experience and asks: how is e-commerce emerging in European regions; what are the technologies used; what are the difficulties faced; what are the benefits; and, more generally, what is the nature of the processes involved in making a success of e-commerce by government? The paper deals with these questions through a combination of conceptual instruments (the "diamond of sociotechnical alignment") and empirical analysis. In this way, the paper aims to provide insights beyond the particularities of the Veneto region, with a view to helping the understanding and practice of other e-commerce innovation processes in regional environments.

Finding the best route to driving a practice car

WHAT method of providing a practice car is the most tax efficient and represents the best value for money? What impact has this year's reform of the company car tax...

Campaigning Against Government in the Old Dominion: State Taxation, State Power, and the Virginia 1997 Gubernatorial Election

James S. Gilmore III (R) credited his election in 1997 as governor of Virginia to his attacks upon the size and taxation authority of state government, a twist on recent Republican attacks upon the size and taxation authority of the national government. Gilmore's plan to eliminate the personal property tax for nearly all cars and trucks was also seen as the key to his victory by independent analysts and by Virginia legislators. This quantitative analysis finds, however, that Gilmore's support was primarily the result of partisan orientations, evaluations of his character, the performance of the incumbent Republican gubernatorial administration, and background measures like the respondent's education and age. Variables that measured an individual's interest in smaller state government, his or her knowledge of which candidate proposed the car tax cut, and the importance he or she placed on tax issues did not achieve statistical significance.

Discrete choice models and optimal two-part tariffs in the presence of externalities: optimal taxation of cars

The purpose of this paper is to analyse optimal two-part tariffs in the presence of externalities within the framework of a model of discrete choice. The prototype application of the model is optimal taxation of car ownership and car use to correct for external costs. The externality we consider is allowed to cause feedback effects on demand and ownership shares and, therefore, on tax revenues. It is found that only the feedback effect of the externality on ownership shares is important in determining the optimal tax structure. When external costs differ between car types, it is shown that the role of fixed taxes crucially depends on the available variable tax instruments; various restrictions on variable tax instruments are analysed. We also study the implications of heterogeneity and distributive concerns for the optimal taxation of externalities via user and ownership taxes. We identify the specific role of the distribution of ownership and of conditional demands as well as the distributive impact of the externality itself.

Automobile Pollution Control in Brazil

Air pollution concentrations have been rapidly increasing in the major urban areas of Brazil caused mainly by the increasing use of vehicles. In the presence of this negative externality, environmental regulation is required. Car emission control policies in Brazil have relied basically on mandatory emission standards and subsidies for specific cleaner technology resulting in substantial decrease of car emission rates. Nevertheless, car sale taxes, differentiated by vehicles' size and fuel, have also influenced car emission patterns. This paper analyzes the compliance trend of the Brazilian fleet with environmental standards between 1992 and 1997. We find that larger automobiles had the fastest compliance schedule while popular models adjusted very slowly. Also gasoline-fueled models had a faster adjustment pattern than ethanol cars. Additionally, we analyze the current relationship between pollution emissions and car characteristics in order to orient policy formulation. We find a positive relationship between emissions rates and horse power, concluding that although the current value added-sale car tax is not environmental harmful, a tax differentiating clean from dirty models, within each tax bracket, could create substantial incentives for emission control in the future.

The Effect of Taxes and Insurance Costs On Automobile Registrations in the United States

We investigate the determinants of United States automobile registrations in states in 1986, focusing on state and local taxes and fees, and on auto insurance premiums. Using data on state tax and fee structures and the results of a phone survey of states where automobiles are subject to property taxes, we calculate tax and fee costs for a "new" and an "old" car. Regression results show that new car taxes have httle effect on registrations, probably because owners respond to higher taxes by buying older, cheaper cars. Higher old car taxes reduce registrations because low-income owners cannot buy older or cheaper cars and thereby abandon ownership. Insurance premiums appear to have a negative effect on registrations.

Car tax wipes out pay rise or community nurses

Car tax wipes out pay rise or community nurses

EC: Car taxes

EC: Car taxes

Constitutional Law. Taxation of Tank Cars. Unit Rule

Constitutional Law. Taxation of Tank Cars. Unit Rule