Swiss SVP Party Obtains Referendum On Eco Car Tax

by Ulrika Lomas, Tax-News.com, Brussels

09 June 2009

Fiercely opposing the introduction of an eco car tax, designed to impose less tax on low emission vehicles, the Swiss People’s Party (SVP) in the Swiss canton of Solothurn has, in record time, gathered a sufficient number of signatures to trigger a referendum. Voters in the canton will now be able to decide the fate of the new car tax.

Approved in March by the government and left-wing majority of the cantonal council, the controversial eco car tax comprises a basic car tax of CHF85 coupled with an ecological tax. An energy label issued by the Bundesamt für Energie, the Federal Office responsible for energy, will determine the precise amount of ecological tax due. Divided into seven categories ranging from A to G, energy label A indicates the greatest energy efficiency, subsequently imposing the lowest tax, while energy label G denotes the worst rating, thus imposing the highest tax.

According to the SVP, the introduction of the eco tax will merely serve as a tax incentive for more affluent households in the canton, those able to purchase a new car with an energy label A every two years. Among those penalised by the system will be families, low-income earners, young people and companies, since the car tax will inevitably increase with the age of the vehicle.

Determined to maintain the current motor vehicle tax in Solothurn, where owners of smaller cars with less powerful engines are liable for less tax than owners of larger vehicles with more powerful engines, the SVP has emphasised that not only will the eco car tax encourage a throw-away society, but that it is unfair as the energy labels are not only determined by the total consumption of the vehicle, but also by other factors, meaning that a larger vehicle may well receive a better energy label (less tax) than a small car. The complexity of the system will also lead to higher administrative costs, the party maintains.

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