European Parliament rejects European Commission's gasoline/diesel excise tax harmonization

Diesel Fuel News, Nov 24, 2003

European Parliament Rejects European Commission's Gasoline/Diesel Excise Tax Harmonization: While Europe's Council of Ministers earlier approved a fuel-tax harmonization scheme (see Diesel Fuel News 11/10/03, p11), Parliament just voted to reject a similar scheme first proposed by European Commission.

As a result, the proposal goes back to Economic & Monetary Affairs Committee for further revision. Truckers detouring to fill-up in low-tax EU states may cause some revenue problems to high-tax nations, but tax-rate competition among member states could help reduce costs for consumers Europe-wide, Parliament found. Countries about to enter the European Union would have found the high fuel tax rates mandated under the Commission harmonization scheme especially inflation-inducing. Another problem: Having huge excise tax differences between commercial and non-commercial diesel at retail pumps is an open invitation to tax fraud, Parliament's fuel-tax rapporteur warned. Meantime, Czech truckers complain that they can't compete with other European haulers because of a diesel tax rate that's 300% higher than competing EU states, according to a report from CTK Business News.