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Jul 11, 2012

TAX POLICIES * Europe

* Belgium - Company car taxation to contribute to the deficit of European countries

Brussels,Belgium -Fleet Europe -June 2012: -- When the going gets though, the car taxation gets going. The car has proven an indispensible milk cow in the past and with CO2-emissions, politicians have found a politically correct way of increasing taxes. In many countries company cars are subject to tax increases, increasing the Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) of international fleets. Including taxes and the effect of taxes in your strategy pays more than ever... After another though 2011, many look at 2012 as a year where things should settle again providing a stable atmosphere for good life and work. Nevertheless, the Euro and the banking crisis has left big deficits and there is a possibility that all of us will need to contribute to get this budget in balance again. Through our company car, we will contribute a bit more in most of the countries. Driven by a social and environmental objective, company cars, higher end cars and polluting cars will contribute the most...

Labels: tax policys

Mar 9, 2012

TAX POLICIES * WORLDWIDE

* DC - Obama Proposes Tax Credit for Natural Gas, Electric Trucks

(Photo by Bruce Harmon/Trans Pixs)

Mt. Holly,NC,USA -Transport Topics —7 Mar 2012: -- President Obama has proposed a new federal tax credit to encourage truck fleets to purchase vehicles powered by natural gas or electricity... Obama said he would fight to permit tax credits that would equal half of the added cost of alternatively powered commercial vehicles... DTNA officials said a Class 8 tractor powered by compressed natural gas currently costs about $40,000 more than a similar diesel-powered model... While CNG is notably cheaper to buy than diesel, OEMs say it’s difficult to make up the acquisition cost differential in a reasonable time, which has slowed sales of the alternative fuel models...

* Italy - Car power to be taxed in

Rome,Italy -Fleet Europe (Belgium), by Tim Harrup -24 Feb 2012: -- Business travel is one of the areas to suffer under the austerity measures introduced by the new Italian premier. The package, entitled ‘Salva Italia’ (save Italy) includes increased taxation on cars and on business aviation. A new ‘luxury’ tax of 20 Euros per kilowatt of power over 185 kilowatts has been introduced for cars, with this applying proportionally at 60%, 30% and 15% for cars which are respectively 5, 10 and 15 years old. The tax no longer applies when cars reach the age of 20 years. The programme also hits business trips in limousines or business aircraft. German newsletter DMM reports that this measure is set to make premium German models more expensive in Italy...

Labels: tax policys

Feb 29, 2012

TAX POLICIES * USA

* DC - Congress Drops Tax Break for Truck Buyers

Washington,DC,USA -Transport Topics -21 Feb 2012: -- Congress last week declined to extend a tax break that was credited with dramatically boosting truck sales in 2011, but a Democratic lawmaker said the incentive could return later this year... President Obama’s proposed 2013 budget included the measure, which allowed businesses that bought new equipment in 2011 — anything from trucks and trailers to machines and computers — to depreciate 100% of the purchase price in that tax year... To stimulate investment and help manufacturers struggling in the latest recession, Congress raised the first-year depreciation break to 100% for purchases made between Sept. 8, 2010, and Dec. 31, 2011. On Jan. 1, the 100% single-year depreciation reverted to 50%, but businesses, truck makers and dealers are pressing Congress to extend the 100% break through 2012... The bonus depreciation has proved so popular that the U.S. Treasury estimated it will cost taxpayers $55 billion in the 2011 tax year, but Treasury officials said when the program began that taxpayers would recoup much of the loss in subsequent years when corporations do not have depreciation to write off...

Labels: tax policys

Jan 25, 2012

TAX POLICIES * UK

* UK - Foreign trucks must pay for using UK roads

London,EN,UK -Commercial Motor, by Hayley Pink -25 January 2012: -- Foreign trucks could face a £10 per day charge to use UK roads under government plans to introduce a lorry road user charge... In a consultation to be announced later today, the Department for Transport (DfT) will reveal details of the scheme intended to level the playing field between foreign hauliers and British hauliers, who are already required to pay charges for using roads in mainland Europe... In contrast, UK-registered HGVs pay charges or tolls in most other European countries, for example, a lorry doing a two-day return trip from the UK to the Netherlands pays 16 Euros in user charges...

* UK - Plans to Compensate Domestic Truckers for Road-Usage Levy

London,EN,UK -Bloomberg (USA), by Gonzalo Vina -Jan 25, 2012: -- Britain’s government will compensate owners of U.K.-registered trucks who will face a daily charge of as much as 10 pounds ($15.6) to use their vehicles by 2015, Transport Minister, Mike Penning, said... The U.K. is seeking ways to charge foreign hauliers to use Britain’s roads without hurting U.K. lorry drivers. European Union rules prevent the U.K. from charging only trucks with foreign plates. About 1.5 million trips a year are made by such vehicles... “We want to ensure that U.K. hauliers get a fairer deal and help maintain the competitiveness of our logistics industry,” Penning said in a statement released by his office in London today...

Labels: tax policys

Sep 16, 2011

TAX POLICIES * Australia - Climate change bills confirm truck exemption

The trucking industry’s two-year exemption from the carbon tax has been confirmed

(Video from Youtube, by Roco43 -04 Aug 2008: Trucks around Australia)

Sydney,Australia --Australian Trucking Association/The Friday Facts -16 September 2011: ... The exemption is included in the Australian Government’s climate change bills, which it introduced into Parliament this week after a short consultation period... Under the bills, most business fuel users, including the rail and mining sectors, would be subject to the tax from 1 July 2012. Following lobbying from the ATA and its members, the Government announced the trucking industry would not be subject to the tax until 1 July 2014. The Australian Trucking Association would continue arguing for a permanent exemption from the tax... “85 per cent of trucking businesses are small businesses with fewer than five employees. They are no different to other small businesses that are exempt from the carbon tax, except they happen to operate trucks weighing more than 4.5 tonnes,” ATA Chief Executive Stuart St Clair said...

* Europe - Eurovignette Directive finally adopted

(Video from Youtube, by TruckerBoy22 -22 Sept 2010: thx for watching - Music: Velvet-Chemistry -radio_edit)

Brussels,Belgium -Truck & Business, by Claude Yvens -14 Sept 2011: -- The European Council adopted on Sept. 12 proposed amendments on June 7 on the Eurovignette... Directive is finally adopted, and member states have two years to transpose its provisions into national law. If they wish, so the states can introduce new tolls that incorporate the concept of 'externalities' such as air pollution or noise caused by trucks...

* Europe - Working time directive: the big countries get a ticking off

Brussels,Belgium -Truck Europe, by Claude Yvens -14 Sept 2011: -- On Monday, European Commissioner, Siim Kallas, indicated that 14 of the 27 member states have so far transposed the work time directive regarding road transport into national law. The 14 to have done so are Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Estonia, la Greece, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia... It will be recalled that this directive sets out a working week of 48 hours, able to be extended to 60 hours provided the average of 48 hours is not exceeded in a 4 month period. The most controversial clause in this directive involved the inclusion of independent drivers, and it is this particular clause which is hindering transposition into national law in the major transport markets such as France, Germany, Spain and the UK...

Labels: tax policys

Mar 24, 2011

Duty changes * UK - Will save hauliers £1,500 per truck every year

London,EN,USA -Road Transport, by Joanna Bourke -23 March 2011: -- The hard-pressed haulage industry has today celebrated relief on fuel duty, with Chancellor, George Osborne, revealing measures to change taxation on fuel... In the 2011 Budget unveiled today, Osborne announced that with effect from 6pm, fuel duty will be cut by 1ppl, while a planned 1ppl rise due for April has been scrapped... Carroll, a former haulier himself, together with the Freight Transport Association (FTA) and the Road Haulage Association (RHA) have collected over 150,000 public signatures and 140 MP signatures for the FairFuelUK petition, which demanded a freeze on the planned April duty rise... FTA chief executive Theo de Pencier claims early estimates show that a cut in fuel duty and the deferment of a rise will save hauliers £1,500 per truck per year. He also welcomed the government's announcement that it would finance a larger number of apprentices...

Labels: tax policys

Dec 15, 2010

TAX POLICY * UK - TfL still reviewing whether to charge for FORS

Transport for London (TfL) is still deciding whether to start charging operators ...

London,UK -Road Transport, by Chris Tindall -14 December 2010: ... to join its Freight Operator Recognition Scheme (FORS) in order to plug a hole in government funds... The Freight Transport Association says the voluntary scheme, intended to promote best practice and environmental efficiency, is being reviewed along with a host of other schemes TfL manages to see if a membership fee can be introduced... Natalie Chapman, FTA head of policy for the south east, says London's transport body is concerned that fees will put off smaller operators... (Picture from roadtransport: JO new Top-thumb)

Labels: tax policys

Mar 31, 2010

POLICY * USA - Truckers Exhale: No New Fuel Taxes, DOT says

Where is the money going to come from?

New York,NY,USA -Gerson Lehrman Group, by John Schulz -March 26, 2010: -- A top official of the Department of Transportation says the Obama administration has not changed its stance in opposition to raising the federal tax on motor fuels... The federal tax on motor fuel -- 18.4 cents on gasoline and 23.4 cents on diesel -- has gone unchanged since 1993, the opening days of the Clinton administration... Recently John Porcari,the Deputy DOT Secretary, told Congress that it "is still our position" not to raise the fuel tax in the wake of the recession. "That as we are in the beginning stages of a recovery, it is as important as ever to make sure that recovery is accelerated in every way possible"... Let's hope that acceleration doesn't include driving on any of our nation's congested, overused, and under-maintained highways. Recent reports show nearly one-half of the nation's bridges are structurally inadequate and perhaps as much as one-third of the Interstate highway system is in need of upgrading... Only problem is nobody in Washington has the guts to raise anyone's taxes in an election year. And that's a shame...

Labels: tax policys

Mar 24, 2010

Road Charging Systems * Belgium - Eurovignette back on agenda

Brussels,Belgium -HGV (UK) -March 24, 2010: -- The Belgian government has confirmed it will put the Eurovignette back on the agenda, when it assumes the presidency of the EU in July... The news means that new rules on charging lorries for use of Europe’s roads could be agreed by the end of the year... Addressing Belgium’s Senate earlier this month, the country’s mobility minister, Etienne Schouppe, said Belgium was aiming for agreement on the Eurovignette by the end of its term, so that member states can put in place road charging systems that incorporate the external costs of road freight transport. Under the current Eurovignette directive on charging rules for road freight(agreed in 2006), Member States can only charge for infrastructure costs. Member States are currently banned from charging lorries for environmental damage, accident costs, and congestion costs, although there is a directive which would allow these costs to be internalised for the railways... (Picture: Traffic England)

Labels: tax policys, truck charges

Mar 4, 2010

TAX POLICY * USA - Warehouse Group Fights Tax

Pennsylvania's proposed warehouse tax would kill local jobs, says IWLA

Harrisburg,PENN,USA -The Journal of Commerce Online, by William B. Cassidy -Mar 2, 2010: -- A proposed 4 percent tax on warehouse services in Pennsylvania would kill local jobs, says International Warehouse Logistics Association President Joel D. Anderson... The tax is part of a package Rendell proposed to shrink the state’s $5.6 billion deficit. The governor wants to reduce Pennsylvania’s sales tax from 6 percent to 4 percent and extend it to a list of 74 products and services that aren’t taxed, including warehousing... Instead of raising revenue, the tax would drive warehouse jobs and freight to neighboring states, Anderson said...

Labels: tax policys

Nov 10, 2009

TAXES POLICY * USA - Cap and trade proposal passes committee, moves to full Senate

Washington,DC,USA -Land Line Magazine, by Charlie Morasch -November 9, 2009: -- Climate change legislation that is also known as cap and trade has advanced from the Senate Committee on the Environment and Public Works, albeit with some controversy... Cap and trade would establish carbon emission limits for several business sectors and is expected to cause sharp increases in fuel and diesel prices. A credit system would allow businesses that operate above limits to purchase credits and businesses with leftover credits to sell on the open market... The bill is expected to be combined with other related climate change legislation for consideration by the full Senate... Climate change legislation isn’t likely to get full approval anytime soon, however... White House officials have hinted that if cap and trade isn’t approved in Congress, the EPA could regulate greenhouse gas emissions by all businesses...

Labels: tax policys

Nov 2, 2009

DECISION * USA - IRS Reverses FedEx Ground Ruling

Decision backs company on independent contractors, drops $319 million assessment

Washington,DC,USA -The Journal of Commerce Online -Nov 2, 2009: -- An Internal Revenue Service decision to reverse a previous assessment that FedEx had misclassified some package delivery drivers marks a strong victory for the carrier and its use of independent contractors at its parcel division... FedEx announced Oct. 30 in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission that the IRS had reversed the 2007 decision that FedEx owed $319 million in back taxes for wrongly classifying the drivers in 2002... The carrier said the decision supports the company’s point that the drivers at its FedEx Ground division are not company employees but independent contractors, which is central to the operation’s business model as it competes with UPS and its unionized company drivers... (Photo from es.wikipedia: FedEx's DC10 in Puerto Rico)

Labels: tax policys

Oct 15, 2009

TAX POLICY * USA - Con-way, Schneider come out against cap-and-trade effort

Washington,DC,USA -Fleet Owner, by Wendy Leavitt -Oct 14, 2009: ... Within the American Clean Energy and Security Act (ACES) its five separate titles detailed over nearly 1,000 pages, the carbon cap and trade provision is arguably the most controversial. Now some truck fleets are joining the ranks of those against the cap and trade provision, including Con-Way and Schneider National... According to C. Randal Mullett, v.p. government relations & public affairs for Con-Way, “If transportation does not get allowances like the other segments [of the economy], we have no choice but to oppose it” ... Those “allowances” are the carbon credits side of the equation, and the credits that would initially be allocated by the federal government to certain industries are among the most contentious aspects of this bill. According to Grist.beta, for example, the cap and trade process would start by dividing up a starter pool of carbon credits among these industries: ...

Labels: tax policys

Oct 14, 2009

TAX MEASURES * WORLDWIDE

* Canada - BCTA lobbies for industry friendly ones

As the B.C. government makes plans for next year’s budget the B.C. Trucking Association made sure the trucking industry’s concerns will be considered

Victoria,BC,CAN -Today's Trucking -14 Oct 2009: ... On Sept. 22, the BCTA submitted pre-budget recommendations to the provincial government that cover refinements to the carbon tax, harmonized sales tax (HST), the motive fuel tax exemption and the subsidization of TransLink... BCTA has previously promoted using a portion of the carbon tax to provide incentives for the industry to more widely adopt fuel-efficient equipment and technologies. The pre-budget consultation provided another opportunity to reiterate the positive benefits of giving back a portion of the industry’s carbon tax contribution to help implement the Working Group’s recommendations...

* UK - Mayor 'considers' road charging. The mayor's strategy includes plans to boost low carbon transport

London,UK -BBC News -12 Oct 2009: -- London Mayor, Boris Johnson's, transport strategy has stated that new road charging "could be considered"... The mayor set out his plans for Tubes, buses and roads for the next 20 years as part of The London Plan... Upgrades to the Tube and London Overground were included in the plans and Crossrail was highlighted as being central to the strategy... Labour's London Assembly transport spokeswoman, Val Shawcross, criticised the plans for "lacking vision"...

Labels: tax policys

Oct 9, 2009

TAX POLICY * Europe - Proposed EU carbon tax on road fuel

The European Commission is considering a pan-European carbon tax on road fuels as part of its climate control policy

Dublin,Ireland -HGV Ireland -October 8, 2009: ... The proposed tax would hit haulage operators across Europe particularly hard, as diesel is not a discretionary spend for hauliers... The proposal has the backing of the Nordic countries and by France, which has introduced a carbon tax on domestic fuel... The proposal, from Laszlo Kovacs, the European Taxation Commissioner, has also gained the backing of Belgium’s as a means of shifting revenue collection from unpopular payroll taxes to consumption taxes on carbon... A Treasury spokesman said that Britain had no plans to introduce a carbon tax... (Photo from folkecenter: Trucks running on plant oi. Denmark)

Labels: tax policys

Apr 6, 2009

Incremental pricing * Australia - 'Costly for operators'

Sydney,Australia -Supply Chain Review -April 07, 2009: -- The trucking industry may be financially burdened by an incremental pricing scheme amid calls for a fuel-only charging system to be rolled out... The National Transport Commission (NTC) has been told to scrap its proposal to charge operators to carry an extra 10 percent mass because it is likely to lead to a rise in inefficiency with the potential to overcharge operators... In its submission opposing incremental pricing, the Australian Trucking Association claims the NTC’s proposal will not deliver greater access even if operators invest time and money adopting the scheme... As an alternative, the ATA suggests fuel-only charging, saying there is a better alignment between use and charge because the latter varies with consumption...

Labels: tax policys

Apr 4, 2009

FEES & TAXES * Canada - TransLink looks to shippers, truckers to pay for transit work

While a container tax is the idea floating around, TransLink might attempt to collect the fee from ports (and their trucker clients) in some other form/span>

Vancouver,BC,CAN -Today's Trucking -3 April 2009: -- A TransLink plan to tax every freight container that moves in and out of B.C. coastal ports is being aggressively fought by shippers and retailers... TransLink -- the provincial agency responsible for the Lower Mainland's road infrastructure and transit system -- is desperately looking for new revenue streams to make up for a funding shortfall. The agency needs the money primarily to fund a major public transit expansion, reports the Surrey Delta Leader... While the container fee has yet to be determined, the paper reports that a $20 charge per standardized container is under consideration... However, neither TransLink nor the province has the authority to collect the fee. Federal support would be required...

Labels: tax policys

Jan 23, 2009

TAX * Canada - Ontario business groups seek change

Toronto,ONT,CAN -Today's Trucking -22 Jan 2009: -- One of the big political buzzwords of the day is change, and the Ontario Trucking Association wants to see some of it in the province’s tax system... The OCC report -- entitled, “Made in Ontario: The Case for Sales Tax Harmonization” -- illustrates three potential options for the harmonization of Ontario’s sales tax with the GST... The first is a simple harmonization which replaces the PST with an 8 percent tax harmonized with GST; the second is made-in-Ontario alternative A, which exempts the purchases of children’s clothing, “clean” energy, labor intensive services and the MASH sector (Municipal, Academic, Schools, Hospitals) from the Ontario portion; and the third is made-in-Ontario alternative B, which zero-rates financial services from the Ontario portion...

Labels: tax policys

May 25, 2008

TAX * Canada - Carbon Crunch

You think there’s already too much tax built into the price of fuel? Well, truckers you ain’t seen nothin’ yet

BC,CAN -rbmcarriers/Today's Trucking, by Steve Macleod -17 May 2008: -- ... specially those of you in B.C., anyway... When B.C.’s Finance Minister released the 2008-2009 provincial budget this year, however, some mutterings became a bit more audible and still show no signs of quieting down... The province has become the first jurisdiction in North America to introduce a carbon tax directed at consumers. It will apply to pretty much all fossil fuels, including gasoline, natural gas, coal, propane, home heating fuel, and of course — diesel. If the budget passes, beginning this year, gasoline will increase by 2.5 cents per liter and diesel by 2.7 cents per liter this year. After the five-year phase-in period in 2012, the prices will be 7.3 cents more per liter and 8.3 cents per liter, respectively... Designed to encourage consumers to make more environmentally friendly buying decisions, B.C.’s carbon tax is being billed as revenue-neutral and will supposedly be given back to citizens in the form of tax cuts... Even though the carbon tax could put the price of fuel in B.C. at nearly three times what it will cost in neighboring provinces, Carole Taylor, B.C.’s Finance Minister, is confident the new measure will not make B.C. uncompetitive... There may be benefits for the average citizen, admits B.C. Trucking Association (BCTA) CEO Paul Landry. But for truckers who already voluntarily invest in fuel saving technologies, the tax plan provides very little return. “What’s missing in this budget for the trucking industry is the balance. We see the stick, but where’s the carrot?”... (The BCTA says the carbon tax is all stick,no carrot, for trucking companies)

Labels: tax policys

May 14, 2008

TAX POLICY * Australia - Coalition blocks hike of heavy vehicle diesel excise

Sydney,Australia -ABC News -14 May 2008: -- The Senate has blocked the Federal Government's plans to increase the diesel fuel excise on 350,000 heavy vehicles... The Government wanted to increase the charge collected from the fuel, used by trucks and buses, to cover future road costs... The Coalition has used its majority in the Senate to disallow the regulation to increase the charge... Nationals leader Warren Truss says it would have driven up the cost of every transport task in Australia... "It's inflationary, it puts up the price of food and groceries and everything that people buy around Australia"...

Labels: tax policys