Senators adopted on Monday a draft law on the car pollution tax, amending the first registration tax that had been criticized by the Court of Justice of the European Union, Mediafax informs. Proposed by the government, the draft was adopted with 57 votes in favor, 51 votes against and four abstentions.
According to the draft, the pollution tax will now be calculated on the basis of “objective criteria” – the type of engine, its cylinder capacity, carbon dioxide emissions, pollution quota – and will take into consideration the vehicle’s depreciation in line with a series of coefficients that the government proposed, allowing for a correct and real taxation of polluters based on the quantity of emissions. The adopted draft law stipulates a tax cut of up to 25 per cent and states that the new tax will be charged for cars registered before 2007 too. The tax will be paid only once in the case of new or second-hand vehicles registered for the first time in Romania, irrespective of whether the vehicle was produced in the country or abroad, and in the case of cars registered before 2007 for which the tax was not paid. In the latter case, the tax will be paid the moment the vehicles are registered to new owners in case they are sold, the Environment Ministry informs.
