[NEWS]
Spain penalizes purchase of PTWs
The Spanish Congress approved a registration tax scheme, allegedly based on CO2 emissions, with higher thresholds for motorcycles compared to other vehicles.
Thes tax scheme, approved on December 18th by the Spanish Government, represents a flagrant discrimination towards those citizens who choose motorcycles and scooters for their mobility and leisure needs. The newly approved law inexplicably lowers the emission thresholds for motorcycles by 33 to 40 %, leaving car CO2 limits unvaried.
ANESDOR, ACEM’s Spanish member, deems this an illogical as well as a discriminatory measure, which favours heavier vehicles emitting more CO2 instead of encouraging the use of PTWs which emit less CO2 and reduce congestion. While the CO2 contribution of motorcycles and mopeds compared to overall transport is marginal, their benefits in terms of efficient and sustainable mobility and low CO2 emissions are widely recognized. This new law will clearly result in increasing congestion, increasing CO2 emissions and destroying jobs.
The Spanish trade association estimates that the adopted registration tax will not only have a direct impact on sales, but will have immediate consequences on jobs’ loss and creating instability in the sector. The negative effect of this new registration tax on the purchase of motorcycles does not affect the manufacturers alone but also through the distribution networks and sub-contracting industry, SMEs that make up a sector that indirectly employs more than 25.000 people in Spain.
A Spanish MP commented: "It seems incomprehensible that the government rather than adopting the necessary measures to boost our growth, introduces discriminatory elements for those who choose the motorcycle as transportation means. This measure clashes with the advancement of PTWs as a mobility tool and economic development, as well as with the current criteria on issues of urban mobility."
ANESDOR reckons that the new registration tax in a time of slowdown shows little economic rationale. In Spain PTWs registrations experienced a 25% drop so far this year. The trade association estimates that the entry into force of the new law would mean an additional drop of 15 points, leading the market to fall in 2009 to figures close to 45%, which would put the PTW industry in a truly untenable situation.
It is incomprehensible why the Spanish Government is not considering taking measures to aid the motorcyle industry while increasing the registration tax on PTWs will neither provide revenue for the state coffers nor reduce CO2, as the overall contribution on greenhouse emissions from motorcycles, scooters and mopeds is negligible in absolute figures compared to other means of transport.
[INDEX]
ANESDOR ON DISCRIMINATORY REGISTRATION TAX FOR PTWS IN SPAIN
NEW STANDARD FOR VEHICLES NOT REQUIRING TYPE APPROVAL