Wednesday, 07 APRIL 2010 - CATEGORY : MARKET NEWS
The mileage tax will not become a reality any time soon in the Netherlands, as the CDA, the party of the (resigning) prime minister, Camiel Eurlings, no longer supports the proposal.“There is a risk of the tax causing doubts in the minds of motorists about the compulsory installation of data loggers”, said a CDA spokesperson.
The increase in the tax on motorised vehicles and the reduction in purchase tax seem to be far from unanimously accepted.
TAGS : mileage_tax,, Netherlands,
Wednesday, 07 APRIL 2010 - CATEGORY : MARKET NEWS
The new Eurovignette Directive could be passed during Belgium’s European presidency in the second half of this year.At least that is the suggestion of the environmental pressure group Transport & Environnement, and the Belgian government has indeed indicated its intention of getting this project back on the table.
The Eurovignette Directive governs the tolls and fees for HGVs using Europe’s roads. In its current incarnation, the directive only allows Member States to pass on infrastructural costs. They are not permitted to tax HGVs for external costs.
Wednesday, 07 APRIL 2010 - CATEGORY : MARKET NEWS
The European Commissioner for Transport, Siim Kallas, has not given his approval for cross-border ecocombi tests."Cross-border transport with longer and sometimes heavier road combinations is not authorised, by virtue of the Directive on weights and dimensions in road transport". This was the response of European Transport Commissioner Siim Kallas to the German Green MEPMichael Cramer, who had quizzed the Commissioner about the cross-border tests with 25.25-m road combinations between Hamburg and Odense (Denmark).
However, no measures would be implemented to prohibit these tests, he added, provided no Member States objected to them.
TAGS : ecocombi,, transport,
Wednesday, 07 APRIL 2010 - CATEGORY : MARKET NEWS
The carbon tax is being scrapped at national level, the French Prime Minister, François Fillon, has announced.This announcement has pleased the transport operators’ associations, including the FNTR (Fédération Nationale des Transports Routiers). “We have always maintained that the carbon tax made no sense unless applied Europe-wide”, commented Nicolas Paulissen, the assistant chief executive of the FNTR. “The argument used for the scrapping of this tax is the same one we used to argue against it.” The argument concerned is Europe. “This levy should be applied at European level so as not to stifle the competitiveness of French companies”, was how the head of the French government put it.
By way of a reminder, the carbon tax was set to come into force on 1 July 2010. The plan was that road, waterway and maritime transportation would all be subject to the tax, but that they would benefit from tax exemption to the tune of 35%.
Wednesday, 07 APRIL 2010 - CATEGORY : MARKET NEWS
According to a House of Commons report, foreign lorries are overrepresented in UK accident statistics.
In explanation of this trend, the House of Commons cites the poor condition of many foreign HGVs, which are in some cases subject to fewer technical checks than British vehicles.
The country’s elected representatives also point to a lack of observance on their soil of European rules on driving and rest times.
