Dutch Plan Extra Tax for Gas-Guzzling Cars

The Dutch government plans to levy an extra tax on cars to help fight climate change that could run into thousands of euros for the most heavily polluting vehicles.

Cars that exceed a threshold level of carbon dioxide emissions would be taxed by an extra 80 euros to 90 euros (US$108 to $121) for each gram above the level, the Dutch Finance Ministry said in a statement on Friday. It also plans to lower taxes for vehicles with relatively low emission rates.
The threshold is 240 grams of CO2 per kilometre for gasoline cars and 200 grams for diesel cars, the ministry said. The measures would apply to a car tax known as BPM, which is levied when a car is bought or registered in the Netherlands for the first time, a Finance Ministry spokesman said.

The extra levy would apply to most SUVs, such as BMW’s X5, Chrysler’s Jeep Grand Cherokee and Mitsubishi Motor Corp.’s Pajero, the spokesman said.

The rule would add an additional 1,600 to 1,800 euros in taxes for BMW’s X5 3.0si standard edition and 3,520 to 3,960 euros for Mitsubishi Pajero’s Invite SWB 3.2 litre DI-D diesel with manual gearbox, according to emission data on the manufacturers’ Web sites.

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