Company Car Research Articles

Profils des entreprises utilisatrices de voitures de société en Région de Bruxelles-Capitale

Sur base des données des Plans de déplacements d’entreprise de la RBC (2014), nous avons mis en évidence trois profils d’entreprises utilisatrices de voitures de société. Ces dernières sont définies comme l’ensemble des entreprises avec au-moins 10 voitures de société pour 100 travailleurs, un seuil qui exclut la quasi-totalité des administrations publiques ainsi que les secteurs de la santé et de l’enseignement. Au-delà de l’élaboration de profils particuliers, cette factsheet met en évidence le rapport de corrélation, d’association, entre la mise à disposition de voitures de société au bénéfice des travailleurs et d’autres caractéristiques. Spécifiquement, le recours aux voitures de société concourt, avec une mise à disposition généreuse de places de parking et une mauvaise accessibilité en transports en commun, à dessiner des profils de mobilité à l'échelle de l’entreprise globalement tournés vers l’usage du mode automobile sur les déplacements domicile-travail.

De netelige kwestie van het aantal bedrijfswagens in België

In België worden regelmatig een groot aantal cijfers aangehaald over het aantal bedrijfswagens. Het begrip "bedrijfswagen" wordt gedefinieerd en er worden twee categorieën van begunstigden onderscheiden. Uit de analyse van de officiële statistieken blijkt evenwel dat geen enkele bron het mogelijk maakt om het aantal bedrijfswagens in België nauwkeurig te bepalen, maar het staat vast dat het aantal bedrijfswagens zeer snel toegenomen is in het laatste decennium. Er wordt een poging gedaan om de voertuigen in kwestie te kwantificeren en een cartografie van de woonplaats van de begunstigden op de schaal van de arrondissementen uit te werken.

L'épineuse question du nombre de voitures de société en Belgique

De nombreux chiffres sont régulièrement cités en Belgique au sujet du nombre de voitures de société. Une définition est adoptée et deux catégories de bénéficiaires identifiées. Cependant, il ressort de l’analyse des statistiques officielles qu’aucune source ne permet de déterminer le nombre de voitures de société en Belgique même s'il est certain que leur nombre connait une très rapide augmentation au cours de la dernière décennie. Une tentative de quantification du nombre de véhicules concernés est réalisée ainsi qu'une géographie des lieux de résidence des bénéficiaires à l'échelle des arrondissements.

The debate regarding the number of company cars in Belgium

Many different figures are mentioned regarding the number of company cars in Belgium. A definition is adopted and two types of beneficiary are identified. However, the analysis of official statistics shows that no source allows us to determine the number of company cars in Belgium, although it is certain that their numbers have increased rapidly over the past decade. An attempt to quantify the number of vehicles concerned is carried out as well as a mapping of the places of residence of beneficiaries for all districts...

Cost intensity of identifying contraindications to driving a company car through psychological tests on the basis of real-world data in Poland

Objective. The study objective was to determine the cost intensity of identifying contraindications to fleet car driving in preventive care. Background. The objective of a psychological examination is to identify impaired psychomotor function as well as any intellectual, cognitive or emotional incapacities, which may seriously impede safety. Method. Real-world data were collected from the healthcare provider in Poland. A total of 8111 anonymous records from psychomotor tests performed between January 1 and December 31, 2012 were analysed. Results. The number needed to screen to identify one person with contraindications to driving was 737. An individual examination costs PLN 150, thus the estimated cost of identifying one case was PLN 110,550 (EUR 25,000). The average number of tests in a small enterprise with 20–50 fleet cars was estimated at 5–25 in a 5-year period and their cost at PLN 3750 (PLN 750 annually). Conclusion. Health check-ups include ophthalmological and neurological consultations; therefore, psychological examination of fleet car drivers may be considered excessive due to cost and limited preventive value. High costs may be burdensome mainly to larger companies. Application. A final decision regarding necessity of psychological testing should be preceded by medical assessment of the risk of work accidents.

The occurrence of demotions regarding job level, salary and job authority

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to determine the occurrence of job level, salary and job authority demotions in the workplace through the analysis of Belgian Statistics on Income and Living Conditions (SILC)-data of 2007-2011.Design/methodology/approachThree hypotheses are tested:H1: there is a gender inequality in job authority demotions.H2: the level of education and the probability of being subject to a job level, salary or job authority demotion are negatively correlated.H3: age is negatively correlated with job level, salary or job authority demotion probabilities. The cross-sectional data of the SILC cover a specific time period with data on inter alia living conditions. The longitudinal data give information on inter alia income and non-monetary variables over a period of four years. The authors estimate multivariate regression models for binary demotion variables. These analyses allow the authors to estimate the odds of being demoted. The authors discuss the demotion rates, the bivariate correlations and the regression analysis.FindingsThe data analysis result in the fact that base salary demotions are not commonly applied as literature and the Belgian law on salary protection endorses. Fringe benefits demotions, as for instance the abolition of a company car or a bonus are, however, more frequent. There is a gender gap with regard to job authority demotion. Highly educated respondents are less confronted with job authority demotions. Age is negatively correlated with base salary/fringe benefits or job authority demotion probabilities, but not with job-level demotions.H1is thus confirmed.H2andH3only partly confirmed.Research limitations/implicationsSeveral analyses were restricted because the EU-SILC did not question all dimensions of demotion in detail.Originality/valueThis study contributes to the scarce literature on demotion and to empirical studies on demotions regarding job level, salary and job authority.

Do You Prefer Having More or More than Others in the Workplace? A Quasi‐experimental Survey in Algeria

We examine the relevance of relative standings in Algeria (North Africa). We focus on the workplace, by considering domains generally important in this specific context: income, extra wage, office size, free days, worked hours, days being ill, offered company car, traffic jam when going to work, and being praised and berated by supervisor. Respondents prefer equality situations (i.e., where everyone has the same endowment) rather than positional and absolute ones (i.e., where they have the highest relative and absolute levels, respectively). An exception is found regarding praise by supervisor where the proportions of individuals choosing positional states are the highest. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Not fully charged: Welfare effects of tax incentives for employer-provided electric cars

More than 15 million cars are provided as fringe benefits by employers in Europe. The company car market is the driving force of changes in European car fleets and one of the main channels for the penetration of low emission vehicles. Policies in support of low emission vehicles through this channel have been popular. This paper introduces an approach to estimate the welfare effects of policies linking company car tax base rates with vehicles׳ environmental impact. The approach is applied to evaluate the effects of tax advantages for electric company cars in the Netherlands. We find that the welfare losses caused by these policies are substantial, and even outweigh the foregone tax revenue. This result also holds if we assume that there are substantial future benefits from the adoption of electric company cars, e.g. in terms of positive network externalities, technological innovation and concomitant environmental benefits.

The Quality of Automotive Industry: The Remote Monitoring Complex of the Quality of Enterprises Activity of Company Car Service System

The development of the automotive industry is inextricably linked with the development of the ensuring operational effectiveness of the industry production sector, namely service maintenance. Today the car service is an important element at ensuring the competitiveness of products and a tool of improving the customer loyalty. Despite the fact that there is no direct connection between the ensuring car quality in production and the quality of service in exploitation, it is obviously that the first and the second directions definitely influence on the perceived by a consumer quality of products and services and so they form an attitude of consumer community to the brand maker. That is why the measurement of service maintenance quality is equally important for automaker as the monitoring of the quality of production processes. At the present time, in the course of solving problems on measuring quality of service maintenance, there has been found a spectrum of methods and techniques allowing to conduct quantitative (the service provider is estimated on a grade scale), qualitative (the quality of customer service is estimated by people responses) and comprehensive quantitative and qualitative researches (they include the above-described estimates). The aim of this paper is the development and implementation of corporate service quality monitoring system with using internal information of automakers enterprises which in the future, in conjunction with results of the research of the perceived quality service maintenance, will provide the most complete quality assessment covering the corporate environment of automaker and consumer environment. The development of information and computer technologies has had a beneficial impact on improving monitoring technologies of product and service quality. Development and implementation of information analysis algorithms of service quality allows getting a balanced assessment of consumers reflecting the quantitative and qualitative research area of satisfaction. However, the implementation of service quality researches based on data received by corporate information systems from proprietary service network enterprises to analytical quality services of automakers enterprises about the results of the maintenance and the elimination of defects and failures of cars are not widely represented in the literature, apart from a small group of sources. That is why this theme in the presented work is the main.

Commuting-related fringe benefits in the Netherlands: Interrelationships and company, employee and location characteristics

Mobility management measures taken by firms could potentially result in more sustainable transport choices and hence reduce traffic congestion and emissions. Fringe benefits offered to employees are a means to implement those measures. This paper explores the most common commuting-related fringe benefits currently provided by employers in the Netherlands, namely telework, flextime and allowance types like public transport passes, bicycle contribution, company cars and general financial compensation. By using the Dutch National Time Use Survey (TBO) 2005/2006, interrelationships among fringe benefits and correlations between company, employee, and (home and work) location characteristics and those employee benefits could be investigated. Logistic regressions and Tobit models are used for several estimations indicating the provision and the use of fringe benefits. The results show that relationships among fringe benefits exist, mainly between telework and flextime, but also between those flexible work arrangements and some types of commuting allowance. Furthermore, numerous job, person and geographical variables affect the probability of receiving and using the fringe benefits. For example, in the non-profit and the public sector sustainable commuting benefits are more often provided, the use of fringe benefits is strongly influenced by household composition and several allowance types show a significant correlation with the number of cars in the household. Moreover, firm location, in particular firm density, is highly related to mobility management measures taken by firms.

Six years of CO2-based tax incentives for new passenger cars in The Netherlands: Impacts on purchasing behavior trends and CO2 effectiveness

There is growing evidence that consumers respond more effectively to upfront price signals, such as vehicle purchase taxes and feebate policies, and to tax incentives that are more salient than others, such as company car taxes graded by CO2 emissions. This paper examines tax changes in The Netherlands, which are among the most stringent and most salient in Europe, and assesses the ex-post purchasing impacts and CO2 effectiveness of six years of CO2-based tax incentives for low-carbon cars in The Netherlands. Dutch tax incentives resulted in 13g/km, or 11% lower average CO2 emissions in 2013. The Netherlands has moved from the 12th position before the tax changes in 2007 to become Europe’s number one in terms of the lowest average new car CO2 emissions and highest share of electric vehicles in 2013. Tax incentives for new cars sold between 2008 and 2013 have resulted in 4.6 million tons of potential lifetime CO2 abatement at the cost of a drop in tax revenues of 30–50%. However, when corrected for the Dutch policy-induced increasing real-world fuel-economy shortfall and leakage of carbon reduction potential through vehicle export of low-carbon cars, only 3.5 million tons or 75% of the CO2 reduction remains. CO2-based tax incentives for company cars seem to have contributed the most to the observed turnaround in purchasing behavior towards lower CO2-emitting passenger cars.

VAT on Private Use of Company Cars in Cross-Border Situations: Double or Non-taxation?

Because the Netherlands and Germany approach the taxation of private use of company cars for VAT differently this may result in double or non-taxation. Double taxation in case the employer is a Dutch entrepreneur and the employee lives in Germany. Nontaxation if the employer is a German entrepreneur and the employee lives in the Netherlands. In this article the author seeks the answer to the question which country applies the correct approach. Her conclusion is that the legislation in both countries needs adjustment.

Welfare Effects of Distortionary Tax Incentives Under Preference Heterogeneity: An Application to Employer-Provided Electric Cars

This paper presents an approach for the estimation of welfare effects of tax policy changes under heterogeneity in consumer preferences. The approach is applied to evaluate the welfare effects of current tax advantages for electric vehicles supplied as fringe benefits by employers. Drawing on stated preferences of Dutch company car drivers, we assess the short-run welfare effects of changes in the taxation of the private use of these vehicles. We find that the welfare gain of a marginal increase in the taxation of electric company cars is substantial and even outweighs the marginal tax revenue raised.

Preferences for alternative fuel vehicles of company car drivers

Costs of car ownership for company cars drivers and private car owners are very different. Car use, car choice decisions and preferences for car characteristics may therefore differ substantially between these two markets. In this paper, we present results of a study on the preferences of company car drivers for alternative fuel vehicles and their characteristics, based on data from an online stated choice experiment in the Netherlands. Results show that, assuming current car characteristics, preferences for alternative fuel vehicles, and for electric and fuel cell cars in particular, are substantially lower than those for the conventional technology. Limited driving ranges, long recharge/refuelling times and limited availability of refuelling opportunities, are to a large extent responsible for this. Preferences for alternative fuel vehicles increase considerably with improvements on these aspects, especially for the hybrid and flexifuel car. Under the current company car tax system in the Netherlands, which favours cleaner technologies, these two car types are even preferred to the conventional technology, assuming equal catalogue prices and personal monthly cost contributions. Comparing results with those from a similar choice experiment among private car owners shows that willingness to pay patterns for AFV improvements regarding driving range, recharge and refuelling times, fuel availability and diversity in AFV supply, are considerably different for company car drivers than for private car owners. Company and private car drivers may therefore react (very) differently to future improvements in AFV technology and fuel availability. We finally show that preferences of company car drivers for fuel cell and electric cars depend to a large extent on annual mileage. Market share simulations show that potential early adopters of electric and fuel cell cars can be found among people with a relatively low annual mileage.

Are Closely Held Firms Tax Shelters?

Executive SummaryIn 2004 Norwegian authorities announced a reform introducing dividend taxation for personal (but not corporate) owners to take effect starting in 2006. This change provided incentives to maximize dividends in 2004 and 2005, and to retain earnings in the following years. Using Norwegian registry data that cover the universe of nonpublicly traded firms, we find that dividend payments responded very strongly to the anticipated reform, but also that much of the response was compensated by reinjecting shareholder equity in the same firms. On the other hand, following the reform, firms began to retain earnings. While all categories of assets grow, the increase in durable assets categories that include equipment, machinery, company cars, planes, and boats is particularly striking. We find that personally owned firms and those that pursued aggressive dividend maximization policy in anticipation of the reform exhibit lower profits and economic activity in the aftermath, but retain earnings and acc...

The Contribution of Benefit-in-Kind Taxation Policy in Britain to the ‘Peak Car’ Phenomenon

Car use per person has historically grown year-on-year in Great Britain since the 1950s, with minor exceptions during fuel crises and times of economic recession. The ‘Peak Car’ hypothesis proposes that this historical trend no longer applies. The British National Travel Survey provides evidence of such an aggregate levelling off in car mileage per person since the mid-1990s, but further analysis shows that this is the result of counter trends netting out: in particular, a reduction in per capita male driving mileage being offset by a corresponding increase in female car driving mileage. A major contributory factor to the decline in male car use has been a sharp reduction in average company car mileage per person. This paper investigates this aspect in more detail. Use of company cars fell sharply in Britain from the 1990s up to the 2008 recession. Over the same period, taxation policy towards company cars became more onerous, with increasing levels of taxation on the benefit-in-kind value of the ownership of a company car and on the provision of free fuel for private use. The paper sets out the changes in taxation policy affecting company cars in the UK, and looks at the associated reductions in company car ownership (including free fuel) and patterns of use. It goes on to look in more detail at which groups of the population have kept company cars and in which parts of the country they have been most used, and how these patterns have changed over time. A preliminary investigation is also made of possible substitution effects between company car and personal car driving and between company car use and rail travel. Clearly, the role of the company car is only one of many factors that are contributing to aggregate changes in levels of car use in Great Britain, alongside demographic changes and a wide range of policy initiatives. But, company car use cannot fall below zero, so the effect of declining year-on-year company car mileage suppressing overall car traffic levels cannot continue indefinitely.

Safety implications of company cars—the Israeli experience

This paper explores the safety implications of the use of company cars. It focuses on a case study in Israel that shows a massive growth in the extent of company-car use in recent years. The methodology consisted of two main elements: the first was a market review regarding the situation in Israel, the second was a questionnaire-based survey distributed to 400 drivers who had a company car and to a control group of 230 drivers who did not have a company car and drove their own vehicles. The results clearly indicate that company cars have a significant negative impact on both travel behavior and safety. First, company-car arrangements result in significant extra mileages which lead to an excessive level of exposure. In addition, company cars are installed with fewer safety features than privately owned cars, and drivers of company cars tend to exhibit fewer safe-driving characteristics. The consequence of such practice is that company-car drivers were also found to be more involved in road crashes than were drivers who did not have a company car. The consequences suggest that decision-makers may need to re-examine company car arrangements in order to control the excessive exposure and to require that company cars come with a core of sufficient safety features.

Effectiveness of Non-Financial Motivational Scheme on Construction Workers Output in Nigeria

In Nigeria’s labour intensive construction industry, ways of motivating workers to ensure high productivity and enhanced job performance are regarded as important factors for long-term survival of firms. Financial motivation is adjudged a lower level motivator and should not be treated as a prime motivator by many authors. This study investigates the effectiveness of non-financial motivational schemes employed by construction firms within the Lagos metropolis. A survey research design was adopted. The survey instrument comprises two sets of close ended questionnaires administered to skilled and semi-skilled workers and the management staff. The findings of the study reveal that the most effective non-financial motivation to skilled and semi-skilled workers include provision of personal protective equipment, love and belongingness, leadership by example, free transportation and free medical facilities. The most effective non-financial motivation to management staff include provision of residential accommodation, company car with free fuel allocation, pension scheme and opportunity to do something that gives a sense of self-esteem. The value of this study for national development is in view of the slow response of the construction industry of developing countries to mechanization of construction operation, which leaves them with large workforce, necessitating the need to adopt an effective means of motivation to enhance productivity. Keywords: Construction Industry, Labour, Motivation, Productivity, Nigeria.

Life Is Long: Work Hard, Take Risks, Have Fun

Life Is Long: Work Hard, Take Risks, Have Fun

Distortionary company car taxation: deadweight losses through increased car ownership

We analyse the effects of distortionary company car taxation through increased household car consumption for the Netherlands. We use several identification strategies and demonstrate that for about 20 % of households company car possession increases car ownership. The annual welfare loss of distortionary company taxation through increased car ownership is generally rather small, maximally €120 per company car, and much less than the welfare loss through increased expenditure on the company car. However, for policies that exempt households from paying tax on their company car, the annual deadweight loss is likely higher. Our first-best tax policy recommendation is to increase company car tax rates. However, our current results suggest that a second-best policy, which keeps average company car taxation constant but which reduces the marginal tax on cheaper cars and increases the marginal tax on expensive cars, would be welfare improving as overconsumption of company cars will be reduced.