Minister: Romanian Govt. could introduce new car tax in March next year

Romania’s Government could introduce a new car tax from March next year, environment minister Gratiela Gavrilescu said yesterday. The final form of this tax is not yet clear, but it should be decided before the Environment Fund Administration’s budget is approved in March 2018. “The principle will be the same, that is, 'The polluter pays!',” Gavrilescu added, reports local Wall-street.ro. A working group within the Environment Ministry has come up with two versions for this tax. Consumers would either pay a one-off tax for the vehicle's’ entire life duration or pay a yearly tax, based on the car’s pollution level. The car registration tax was first introduced on January 1, 2007, when Romania entered the EU. Afterwards, the tax has gone through a lot of changes. It was completely removed in February this year, together with other 101 non-fiscal taxes, which has led to a spike in second hand car registrations. Romanian MPs want lower taxes for cars with big engines, higher for other cars editor@romania-insider.com