FIA criticises Commission Proposal on Diesel Taxation

Publication date: 04 April 2007

"Setting minimum levels for diesel taxation at the proposed level will undeniably lead to a higher production of CO2 by the private motorist" says Wil Botman of the FIA, the leading motoring organisation representing 34 million consumers in response to the European Commission’s proposal addressing the obstacles to the proper working of the internal market and tank tourism in the EU.

The Commission’s proposal was designed to address the issue of commercial diesel taxation.  The FIA is amazed that the Commission has now explicitly linked the taxation level of privately used fuel to the minimum taxation level of commercially used fuel, thereby raising prices of diesel for private users through the backdoor.

In principle, the FIA welcomes European harmonisation in the field of fuel taxation, supporting its general aims.  The time wasted, the impact on road infrastructure, and the increase in congestion caused by tank tourism are important areas the Commission must address.  However in this case, we are concerned about the intention of making diesel fuel more expensive by only setting minimum taxation rates. This proposal leads to a further increase of the cost of motoring, while European motorists already pay over 300 billion a year in taxes.

In the opinion of the FIA, bringing the level of taxation of diesel to the level of petrol for private use is wrong. It punishes those drivers who have opted for diesel cars and is not in line with current environmental policy goals.

The FIA recognises that diesel used to be almost an exclusively commercial fuel, but the Commission must appreciate that within the last 15 years, due to fiscal benefits of diesel there has been a large penetration of diesel into the private market.  This has in turn led to manufactures researching into diesel technology and leading to modern diesel engines that are quiet, fuel efficient, fitted with particulate filters and producing less CO2 than petrol equivalents.  With these clear benefits it is unsurprising that use of diesel by private individuals in countries such as Austria and France is over 70%.

The FIA is therefore astonished at the lack of consistency in the Commissions policy.  While Commissioner Dimas has been pushing for lower levels of CO2 emissions, Commissioner Kovács is, through his taxation policy, forcing the private user to reconsider diesel despite the fact that diesel produces 15% less CO2 compared to petrol.

The FIA hopes that the Commission will respect its principle of collegiality and produce consistent policies that do not penalise drivers who have made economically and environmentally progressive choices, whilst striving in the future to truly harmonise fuel taxation across Europe.

Download a pdf-version of this press release here

diesel_taxation_042007.pdf (18 KB)

For more information please contact
Olivier Lenz
Tel. +32 2 282 08 25

Related documents:
Response of the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) to the public consultation of the European Commission on narrowing excessive differences in the tax levels applicable to commercial diesel