Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

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

bloomberg.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

31–40 of 134 posts

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

#31

Post by wycs »

ceejayoz wrote: post #24
seanmcdirmid wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

> Singapore and Hong Kong for example, which are otherwise libertarian paradises. Wait, what? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_rights_in_Singapore https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/feb/10/hong-kongs-bus...

Economic freedom is very underrated compared freedom of political expression. There are many ways in which Singaporeans are much more free than we are.

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

#33

Post by kgwgk »

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'…

Normal people are definitely able to afford a car. Maybe not a car as nice as if they lived elsewhere, though.

The number of cars per capita may be the lowest in Western Europe but it is not so far from the UK figures, for example: http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php/...

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

#34

Post by Drdrdrq »

ebbv wrote: post #22
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 obviously don't know where you live, but it sounds crazy to people in the US because in most of the US public transportation an bicycle infrastructure is not where it needs to be to make them viable for daily life. In places where public transportation is better (like say NYC), car ownership is the exception rather than the rule. The reality is cars have a massive public cost that we all subsidize via various taxes…

> so that 1 hour (or longer) commutes via car are not the norm.

Is this really the norm in the states? Is this just home -> work route or does it include dropping off kids, shopping,...? Genuinly curious...

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

#35

Post by tomtimtall »

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'…

Dane here. Most people can adford a car if they want one. Normalt you get a loan and pay a monthly rate over the lifetime of the car. Most people who don’t need a car however would rather save the money and use public transport or bike around. I bought a car at the inflated prices, an I wouldn’t want them lowered. I do however feel that the lower fees for electric vehicles was a good thing.

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

#36

Post by raverbashing »

andys627 wrote: post #17
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 amoun…

> using general fund money to build highways

You're forgetting about trucks (and other service vehicles), and though trains are better, you can't have trains everywhere

> providing free/underpriced parking in every downtown in the US

Downtown is predominantly paid parking, and not underpriced either

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

#37

Post by andys627 »

seanmcdirmid wrote: post #19
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.

The thing is - 100% tax on cars is libertarian. You charge car owners something closer to the costs they cause to society. Compare that to the USA where we heavily subsidize car ownership.

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

#38

Post by stevenjohns »

hrasyid wrote: post #20
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.

It depends on where you live, but things like infrastructure are almost supposed to be paid for by drivers in the form of fuel excise taxes[0] or paying road tolls. Paying for parking isn't uncommon either. I agree that pollution is something that needs to be addressed, though.

If taxes on cars were to increase for infrastructure, it would feel like the government is double dipping. Not to mention the general benefit in infrastructure for society as a whole. The benefits for economy can't be understated, not to mention the increased taxes you get across the board.

It's actually quite uncommon to see free government-owned parking lots where I live and when you do see it it's usually a loss leader to encourage people to visit local retailers (where the government will make its money back through sales taxes, income taxes, fuel taxes, encouraging jobs so unemployment, etc).

[0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fuel_taxes_in_Australia

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

#39

Post by ansgri »

I understand the viewpoint that less cars = better cities. But worse cars? Because this heavily penalizes buying better cars. I understand the need to segment the tax burden by income level, but it seems reasonable to make the maximum tax level so that, e.g. you pay flat €50k in taxes if your car costs more than €50k. You can play even the safety card here: more expensive cars have more advanced automation and safety features, so their use should be encouraged.

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

#40

Post by akgerber »

ceejayoz wrote: post #24
seanmcdirmid wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

> Singapore and Hong Kong for example, which are otherwise libertarian paradises. Wait, what? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_rights_in_Singapore https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/feb/10/hong-kongs-bus...

Half of Hong Kong's population lives in public housing, as does 82% of Singapore's population: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_housing_in_Hong_Kong https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_housing_in_Singapore

Which probably reflects that people are more willing to be exposed to market fluctuations when their basic necessities are met by the state.

Post reply on HN