European Commission says no to capping gas tax
Filed under: Legislation and Policy, Green Daily, European Union
While John McCain's idea of a gas tax holiday was a hit in the U.S. (well, it was a hit with him and Hillary Clinton, anyway), the European Commission is saying no in all sorts of languages to the possibility of the EU capping the value-added tax on fuel. Automotive News Europe reports that the EC shot down a proposal by French president Nicolas Sarkozy to cap the tax by saying any such move was the wrong response to high oil prices and would require unanimous agreement anyway. Sarkozy didn't specify how high he thought oil prices should go before the tax cap kicked in, but it doesn't look like he even needs to bother. The EC's stand is that, "changing taxation on fuels in order to combat increasing prices would send the wrong message to producing countries. This would show them that they could increase prices, and citizens would have to pay for this. So that's really the wrong message," Commission energy spokesman Ferran Tarradellas told ANE. Funny, that's not the message we heard when McCain and Clinton were all 'bout the gas tax holiday.[Source: Automotive News Europe]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
5-27-2008 @ 6:20PM
Dad said...
"While John McCain's idea of a gas tax holiday was a hit in the U.S. (well, it was a hit with him and Hillary Clinton, anyway"
Is there something about the writers for ABG that forces you to make nutty editorial comments? A gas tax holiday is a good idea.
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5-28-2008 @ 1:29AM
terrence_bethea said...
The gas tax holiday is a ridiculously bad idea. On the merits:
1) As the average price for regular approaches $4, suspending the 18.4 cents gas tax would save LESS than 5% on a fuel bill. Hummer/Escalade/Navigator/F350 drivers might care . . . nevermind, they don't care . . . that's why they drive such behemoths.
2) Suspending the diesel tax is an equally small savings, but that might actually make the difference in profitability for on-road transport of goods. It also might help schools/public service vehicles dependent on diesel. But again, the benefit is still relatively minor given the overall inflation in fuel costs over the last few years.
3) The high price of fuel is doing EXACTLY what is needed. People are changing their behavior. The long-term benefits of a) carpooling, b) using public transit, c) buying more fuel efficient vehicles and d) driving less have the potential to be huge . . . if sustained. And the best way to sustain it is for prices to remain high.
4) Despite the fact the federal government raids the Highway 'Trust' fund just like all the others, it's foolish to pile up even more federal debt for the purpose of acting like something is being done. In essence, what's the point of using 'debt' dollars to finance a tax cut that's of no real benefit? John McCain used to believe in financial prudence . . . then he started running for President.
Here's an idea - why not reform the public policy (fiscal/monetary) that's led to the collapse of the dollar? A rise in the value of the dollar would have benefits far beyond making oil cheaper.
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