http://www.news24.com/Content/MyNews24/YourStory/1162/4fa91dabae5d462c81fc30f7f8c46ff6/14-01-2010-09-25/Car_tax_A_cash_cow_
South Africa is about to introduce a carbon tax on new vehicles. Now this article is certainly not going to pretend that carbon emissions don't need to be curbed, but this new scheme is nothing short of another cash cow for the treasury.
When will they realise that we already pay carbon tax on our vehicles? It's called fuel tax. In the vast majority of cases, carbon emissions are directly related to fuel consumption, so if you drive a V8 Range Rover, you're already contributing far more to the national coffers than someone in a one litre diesel city car.
Fuel consumption is a massive consideration when purchasing a new vehicle and has exactly the same effect as the proposed carbon tax: Most people buy smaller, frugal cars, and the people who were going to buy something big and fast are still going to do so anyway because it doesn't make much difference to them.
In short, it will hardly make any difference at all in terms of which car people will buy, it will only harm the already faltering car industry even more, an industry in which SA plays an important role.
Also consider that as ridiculous as this new tax is in developed first world countries, it is preposterous in a country like South Africa. It will surely widen the gap between the rich and the poor even more. We're already facing huge electricity hikes, and now they want to steal even more money from us.
This tax will just goes straight into the national treasury, much like any other tax in this country. Carbon tax should be used to fight carbon emissions. Use it to subsidise clean energy research and public awareness. Instead it will used to fund some obscure minister's latest 6.0l Mercedes. This government is far more concerned with extracting more money from us than battling rising carbon emissions.
But it wouldn't be fair to complain and not offer an alternate solution. The people who buy big expensive cars are all taxpayers, and therefore the government knows how much they earn. How about charging salary-based penalties for driving into our cities in these big-engine luxury barges?
This will force them to consider getting something smaller for their daily commute, while still letting them enjoy their fast cars elsewhere, where the damage is greatly reduced. These are the people who can indeed afford to go out and buy a smaller car anyway.
This new scheme, like so many others, is a poorly constructed lazy way out for the government. In the interest of balance however, let's remember that the greenest option of all is to not buy a new car at all. The manufacture of a new car also damages the environment, and in this regard, the new tax may have a positive effect.
But remember, the SA car industry feeds our economy greatly, and the most important weapon in fighting carbon emissions is a healthy economy, so even here the government is merely shooting itself in the foot.
