Do fuel and car taxes matter? The ownership and use of cars is taxed in The Netherlands in various ways. There are taxes such as Vehicle Purchase Tax (VPT) and Vehicle Circulation Tax (VCT), that are independent of the use of the vehicles, and fuel taxes, that increase with the number of kilometres driven. These taxes, that vary throughout Europe, can form a significant part of the total cost of car and kilometre costs. The aim of this project was to analyse the potential impact of different forms of fuel and vehicle taxation on size, composition and usage of the Dutch car fleet. To this end data were compared from eight European countries. Relevant economic, social and cultural effects have been corrected for as far as possible. In the first place the study shows that changes in vehicle and fuel taxes do not lead to uniform changes in vehicle or fuel prices across the countries reviewed. Secondly, we have determined the impact of the VPT, VCT and fuel taxes on the number of vehicle purchases, vehicle and fleet kilometrage, vehicle turnover rates. weight and engine capacity and the share of diesel vehicles. Furthermore, when the VCT is indexed to vehicle weight or engine capacity, we also see an effect on the characteristics of the new purchases. Since these characteristics of a vehicle fleet have an effect on the emissions of the fleet, it was also possible to draw conclusions regarding the effects of these taxes on the environmental impact of the vehicle fleet. (Author/publisher)
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