Dealers want higher taxes

Representatives of car producers and importers support the proposal of the Minister for the Environment, Sulfina Barbu, announced at the end of last week, regarding the introduction of an ecologic tax for registering used cars. They, however, want this tax to be higher and additional measures put in place to discourage imports of “wrecks”. “Obviously, after 2007 there will no longer be any use for the current regulations banning imports of cars, which do not comply with Euro 3 pollution norms, as they discourage competition. Despite the apparent joy of those who could bring cheap second-hand cars from the West, there could be a disaster looming large for, not only those who buy them, but also for the economy as a whole, and not least for the state budget,” believes Constantin Stroe, vice chairman of Dacia. The local producer would be the one most affected by potential imports of cheap second-hand cars. Currently, imported cars, which are older than eight years or which do not comply with Euro 3 pollution norms cannot be registered in Romania. These restrictions will be eliminated for cars registered in countries of the European Union, after Romania”s accession, set to take place on January 1, 2007. This has already happened in other countries, which joined the European Union in the spring of 2004, and the results were the complete opposite. ZF