November 21, 2009
Published: 5 Nov 09 10:40 CET
Updated: 5 Nov 09 12:03 CET
Online: http://www.thelocal.de/national/20091105-23049.html
Transportation Minister Peter Ramsauer sparked a row over the introduction of road tolls in Germany on Thursday, flagging higher charges for car drivers then quickly backing off as the debate heated up.
DDP/The Local (news@thelocal.de)
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Your comments about this article:
Every single vehicle pays an astounding amount in tax, road tax, tax on fuel, tax on the tax on fuel etc etc etc and this money is just siphoned off by the government to spend on oneleggedlesbiandwarfoutreachcenters or whatever and this bellend says we have to pay more?
If all the tax paid on vehicles was used solely for road building/repair then they could tarmac over about 50% of the whole damn country.
A motorway toll would work in Germany because drivers would be prepared to pay for the thrill of driving at high speeds. In the UK, the speed-limit difference between a motorway and an A-road is only 10mph, so a toll there would result in a lot of traffic displacement onto smaller roads.
Yes there is environmental damage but how much more wealth is created because we have cars and don't have to ride the horse to work.
You really think that Mr Average commuter gets a thrill out of driving down the autobahn every morning and evening? Not a chance.
The best thing about legal weed would be that some uptight stuffy little jerks on TT could start a thread about how disgusting it is that some bars allow people to smoke dope, and how the presence of dope smoke in bars essentially makes them prisoners in their own homes because they can never go out to any bars. I'm sure it would be a very interesting thread. Then, they could also start a thread on how the reputation system is broken, because somebody gave them a negative vote, when it is clear that their viewpoint is the correct one. Hours of TT fun.
Let's say you want to raise 10 billion euros. If you raise the fuel taxes by that amount, your overhead is zero, because the system to collect these taxes is already in place. If you want to raise 10 billion euros using a toll system and it costs 1 billion euros to implement/run, you need to collect at least 1 billion from foreign drivers, or else the 'fair' system where foreigners have to pay as well will cost German taxpayers more than the 'unfair' system where only the locals pay.
This may be a good system for small countries with a great number of foreign cars passing through (like Austria), but for a country like Germany the 'make foreigners pay their fair share' aspect seems more like populist window-dressing. I suspect they're coming forward with this because focus groups found tolls to be more acceptable than additional fuel taxes, regardless of whether it makes financial sense or not.
Every single vehicle pays an astounding amount in tax, road tax, tax on fuel, tax on the tax on fuel etc etc etc and this money is just siphoned off by the government to spend on oneleggedlesbiandwarfoutreachcenters or whatever and this bellend says we have to pay more?
If all the tax paid on vehicles was used solely for road building/repair then they could tarmac over about 50% of the whole damn country.
So all the smaller Bundesstrassen will be for the poor, and the autobahns for the bmw's audi's and mercs. Just like they want it.
That has not slowed their economy.
Also, for who drives to work, the Pendlerpauschale can offset a good portion of the tax on fuel.
Works quite well actually and no need for any fancy device you have to buy.
If you drive out on the A96, they are currently "fixing" one of the tunnels going out there. Check it out sometime. This tunnel is freaking perfect. I'm convinced that they just get budgets and have to spend them or they won't get them the next year. A large percentage of what goes on is surely wastage.
Personally I think he let slip what the government are planning but we proles aren't supposed to know about it just yet.
Cynical? Moi?
So all the smaller Bundesstrassen will be for the poor, and the autobahns for the bmw's audi's and mercs. Just like they want it.
Works quite well actually and no need for any fancy device you have to buy.
Someday we might have to flush the excess CO2 out of the air, and that will be expensive. so if fuel had 10 times as much tax as it currently has, it would not pay for the true cost of burning it. So I do get a bit hot under the collar about drivers complaining that the massive amounts of tax they pay on fuel not being put to make their driving expereince even more wonderful.
Using up the budget because if you don't it will be cut next year is not an unknown phenomenon.
So it is very possibe that while the work they are doing is not uneccessary it might be that the money could be better spent elsewhere.
At any rate, it'll be fine for the Audi driver who can still afford to burn the track at 200 kms plus, but the rest of us will pay up too, or cram ourselves on the already too busy B roads.
http://www.dutchnews.nl/news/archives/2009/11/cabinet_finalises_road_pricing.php
They are going to scrap the yearly car/road tax and you will have to pay by vehicle type/distance traveled/when you travel.
Each car will need a GPS box installed to enable billing, probably as part of the local version of the TUV/MOT.
Wonder what they are going to do about tourists?
Are we going to have to stop at the border again in order to buy a "pickerl" or whatever?
Won't be very long before it happens here now.
I don't think that's cynical. Often electoral promises of lower taxes are forgotten the week after the election, or some other tax is increased to make up.
I have just one question. Where the hell is all the tax money (auto, petrol, etc.) that the German Gov. collects going, certainly not to the building, repair, & upkeep of the roads, if there is talk of raising/starting a road tax.
They are going to scrap the yearly car/road tax and you will have to pay by vehicle type/distance traveled/when you travel.
Each car will need a GPS box installed to enable billing, probably as part of the local version of the TUV/MOT.
Won't be very long before it happens here now.
And when they link the technology to speed limits in order to measure average speed over a given route, then speeding drivers will be a thing of the past, making the roads safer as well as less congested.