"John D. Giorgis" schreef:
> At 07:13 PM 1/28/01 +0100, Jeroen wrote:
> >>So what? If the government is going to pass laws that harm
> >>corporations and (more importantly) their stockholders for doing what
> >>they had a legal right to do previously
> >
> >So the US once had laws that explicitly allowed American corporations to
> >pollute the environment? I find that hard to believe.
>
> Don't the Netherlands have laws that explicitly allow you to pollute the
> environment? I mean, they *do* let you drive cars in the Netherlands,
> right?
At considerable higher cost then in the States I might add. That's what they
invented taxes for. If they don't want you to do something but cannot forbid it
they slap a big tax on it. As with driving a car.
Purchase of a car: 19% tax on purchase price and an environmental fee of 2% of
the 'value as new' for selling the car again.
Owning a car: You have to pay monthly taxes of app 50 to 250 Hfl according to
the weight of the car. More if you own a car running on diesel (3 times the
normal tax) or LPG (2 times the normal tax or less if you own one of the newer
type installations) (For a car of 800 kg you pay around 60 Hfl monthly for the
regular fuel type)
Maintenence of your car: Everything you need to be done on your car you pay the
19 % taxes.
Driving a car: Almost 38% of our fuel price are taxes. Even more if you count
the taxes the industry has to pay to produce and transport the fuel to your
local gas station.
Tax deductions in using your car for driving to work: 3 cents/km for the one way
trip and only if your work is further then 25 km from your home.
So whereas according to our law it officially isn't illegal to own or drive a
car, it is so expensive that sometimes the thought had occured to me. :o)
Sonja
