SA’s new ‘green’ car taxes once again aim at a ‘soft target’

This was after the department of transport published the strategy recently, which included new taxes and levies and new rules for road users. The blueprint also outlined its strategy for road, rail and aviation sectors, geared towards government’s international commitments on reducing carbon emissions.

The Automobile Association (AA) spokesperson Layton Beard reiterated the organisation’s stance against additional taxes on motorists, saying the existing ones were already dubious.

The department’s strategy would include a review on the current environmental levy on new motor vehicle CO2 emissions and expand the tax to include commercial vehicles to more effectively influence energy efficiency and the environmental performance of the country’s vehicle fleet.

One of the regulations proposed would see motorists being forced to replace and scrap cars with a mileage of more than 400,000km.

Beard said there were two problems with this proposal, including the affordability of changing a car every four years or so. According to the AA’s research, 90% of South Africans are keeping their cars for longer for economic reasons.

Of these, 40% are keeping their cars for between five and 10 years. Anti-tax abuse group Outa’s director Wayne Duvenhage warned that these additional taxes were aimed at a “soft” part of the economy, comprising vehicle owners and business for government to beef up shortfalls in the revenue it requires.

“The problem with this approach by government is that they are going the wrong way with taxation and SA is an overtaxed society,” he said.

Duvenhage also castigated government’s ambition to have public transport and cleaner cars replace the current system, saying it was “a pipe dream”.

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