Diesel cars on roads should be reduced 07/04/2008 00:00

Flemish Motorists’ Association urges government to cut tax benefits on diesel cars; sites health reasons as part of argument.

7 April 2008

BELGIUM - The Flemish Motorists' Association VAB has urged the government to cut tax benefits on diesel cars and reduce prices for petrol.

The number of diesel cars on Belgian roads should urgently be reduced for health reasons, the VAB argues.

For the occasion of World Health Day, the VAB is drawing the attention to the "unhealthy development" in Belgium as increasingly more diesel cars are being sold.

In Belgium, 8 in ten newly sold cars are diesels. In The Netherlands, this figure is only 30 percent.

The main argument for buyers is the cheaper diesel price, which is some 20 percent under petrol prices, and a tax reduction because of lower CO2 emission levels.

While diesel cars may have a lower CO2 emission, diesel engines emit more unhealthy substances such as particulate matter and nitrogen oxides.

The VAB now calls on the government to reduce state taxes on petrol prices in order to reduce the present gap between petrol and diesel prices at the filling station.

[flandersenews.be / Expatica]