Soon, Cars in Denmark Will Only Be Taxed at 100% (2017) • Hacker News Board

Re: Soon, Cars in Denmark Will Only Be Taxed at 100% (2017)

#11

Post by olivermarks » Thu, Jan 18, 2018, 10:01 PM UTC

TLDR Registration duties of up to 180 percent mean Denmark is one of the most expensive countries in which to buy a new car.

Proposal to lower tax rate to just 100 percent. Currently a Porsche 911 Carrera sports car is $306,600 versus $117,900 in Germany.

"We will still have some of the highest car prices," Economy Minister Simon Emil Ammitzboll told a press conference in Copenhagen on Tuesday. At the same time, it’s "not fair that we, living in one of the wealthiest countries in the world, are driving worse cars than our neighbors in Sweden and Germany."

Re: Soon, Cars in Denmark Will Only Be Taxed at 100% (2017)

#12

Post by pedermoeller » Thu, Jan 18, 2018, 10:02 PM UTC

mortenjorck wrote: post #10

I was quite surprised to click through and read that this is a decrease and not an increase in the tax rate on cars. Which makes me wonder: What about the Danish political climate enabled the original 180% rate to make it into law?

The fact that Denmark does not have a car industry has played an important role.

Re: Soon, Cars in Denmark Will Only Be Taxed at 100% (2017)

#13

Post by Zekio » Thu, Jan 18, 2018, 10:04 PM UTC

charlesdm wrote: post #8

Now, I don't live in Denmark, but am I the only one here who wouldn't like (excessive) tax policies like that? A 180% tax (now to be lowered a bit) on a vehicle seems madly excessive. It's like a ban, without actually having the guts to call it a ban. I'm assuming most normal people are unable to afford a car then. I'm not a car nut (don't even really like cars, though I do own one and don't use it often) but wouldn'…

People tend to buy cars with loans or with monthly payments

Re: Soon, Cars in Denmark Will Only Be Taxed at 100% (2017)

#14

Post by ceejayoz » Thu, Jan 18, 2018, 10:04 PM UTC

hkon wrote: post #9

therealgimli wrote: post #2

As an urban dweller (nyc) who would love to see fewer autos on the road, I view this as a positive development. But I can't help but wonder if there is an automakers lobby in Denmark. If so, why wouldn't they oppose/ shutdown such a measure? I can only imagine the insane backlash a similar ruling would have in the US, in spite of the long term benefits to society from having fewer cars. [edit: should have read the ar…

This assumption shows how insane the taxes are

Alternatively, it may reflect a non-insane accounting for the externalities of personal car-based transport.

Re: Soon, Cars in Denmark Will Only Be Taxed at 100% (2017)

#15

Post by _m8fo » Thu, Jan 18, 2018, 10:05 PM UTC

charlesdm wrote: post #8

Now, I don't live in Denmark, but am I the only one here who wouldn't like (excessive) tax policies like that? A 180% tax (now to be lowered a bit) on a vehicle seems madly excessive. It's like a ban, without actually having the guts to call it a ban. I'm assuming most normal people are unable to afford a car then. I'm not a car nut (don't even really like cars, though I do own one and don't use it often) but wouldn'…

People can still drive, though. Are you against taxes in general?

Re: Soon, Cars in Denmark Will Only Be Taxed at 100% (2017)

#16

Post by bearcobra » Thu, Jan 18, 2018, 10:05 PM UTC

charlesdm wrote: post #8

Now, I don't live in Denmark, but am I the only one here who wouldn't like (excessive) tax policies like that? A 180% tax (now to be lowered a bit) on a vehicle seems madly excessive. It's like a ban, without actually having the guts to call it a ban. I'm assuming most normal people are unable to afford a car then. I'm not a car nut (don't even really like cars, though I do own one and don't use it often) but wouldn'…

I don't really see a problem with using taxation as a mechanism to encourage behavior while still allowing a market for it. Alcohol has a lot of negative impacts for society, so making it a luxury is probably a net good. I think the arguments around cars are a little more nuanced, but if a country decides it wants to encourage public transit & walkability, that seems like a fine goal.

Re: Soon, Cars in Denmark Will Only Be Taxed at 100% (2017)

#17

Post by andys627 » Thu, Jan 18, 2018, 10:06 PM UTC

charlesdm wrote: post #8

Now, I don't live in Denmark, but am I the only one here who wouldn't like (excessive) tax policies like that? A 180% tax (now to be lowered a bit) on a vehicle seems madly excessive. It's like a ban, without actually having the guts to call it a ban. I'm assuming most normal people are unable to afford a car then. I'm not a car nut (don't even really like cars, though I do own one and don't use it often) but wouldn'…

They're not excessive - they're more in line with true cost of car dependent society. In the US we shower subsidies on car owners. Some examples: using general fund money to build highways, charging low gas taxes that don't cover cost of maintenance of roads, providing free/underpriced parking in every downtown in the US, undercharging for pollution and other negative externalities of driving, requiring minimum amounts of parking in new developments (instead of capping parking quantity or letting developer choose how much to provide), qualifying infrastructure using car centric metrics like Level-of-Service, federal gov't providing automatic 10-to-1 match for highway projects but 1-to-1 (in good cases) for transit projects to name a few

Re: Soon, Cars in Denmark Will Only Be Taxed at 100% (2017)

#18

Post by tantalor » Thu, Jan 18, 2018, 10:07 PM UTC

charlesdm wrote: post #8

Now, I don't live in Denmark, but am I the only one here who wouldn't like (excessive) tax policies like that? A 180% tax (now to be lowered a bit) on a vehicle seems madly excessive. It's like a ban, without actually having the guts to call it a ban. I'm assuming most normal people are unable to afford a car then. I'm not a car nut (don't even really like cars, though I do own one and don't use it often) but wouldn'…

You aren't considering the context, such as infrastructure costs, environmental costs, etc.

See Chesterton's fence: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/G._K._Chesterton#Chesterton's_...

Re: Soon, Cars in Denmark Will Only Be Taxed at 100% (2017)

#19

Post by seanmcdirmid » Thu, Jan 18, 2018, 10:07 PM UTC

charlesdm wrote: post #8

Now, I don't live in Denmark, but am I the only one here who wouldn't like (excessive) tax policies like that? A 180% tax (now to be lowered a bit) on a vehicle seems madly excessive. It's like a ban, without actually having the guts to call it a ban. I'm assuming most normal people are unable to afford a car then. I'm not a car nut (don't even really like cars, though I do own one and don't use it often) but wouldn'…

Many countries are similarly bad, yet still have cars; Singapore and Hong Kong for example, which are otherwise libertarian paradises. They tend to have excellent public transportation, however.

There are also still cars in Denmark (no problem seeing them when I visited Aarhus), just not as many as in the states.

Re: Soon, Cars in Denmark Will Only Be Taxed at 100% (2017)

#20

Post by hrasyid » Thu, Jan 18, 2018, 10:08 PM UTC

charlesdm wrote: post #8

Now, I don't live in Denmark, but am I the only one here who wouldn't like (excessive) tax policies like that? A 180% tax (now to be lowered a bit) on a vehicle seems madly excessive. It's like a ban, without actually having the guts to call it a ban. I'm assuming most normal people are unable to afford a car then. I'm not a car nut (don't even really like cars, though I do own one and don't use it often) but wouldn'…

If 180% is excessive, then Singapore begs to disagree: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ki51vh6ihJs

Anyway, I don't think it's a ban. There are literally cars in Singapore :) If you think a regular sedan is worth >$100k (it's normal in Singapore), you can buy it. But make sure you pay for the externalities (traffic, pollution, parking, road-building, ...) that is caused by your choice.