The government needs to change its car tax plan to make sure it meets European Union rules. The latest plan would see the registration fee apply also to second-hand vehicles already registered in Estonia, and because the new scheme would cover more buyers, tax revenue forecasts have also been adjusted upward.
Estonia’s initial plan for a car tax was met with criticism from the European Commission as only requiring buyers of imported vehicles to pay a registration fee would amount to unfair treatment. The coalition has now ostensibly agreed that the registration fee will apply to every vehicle sold, including those already registered in Estonia.
“We’re talking about the first time a vehicle changes hands. In other words, if you have a vehicle registered in your name today and you want to sell it after January 1, 2025, the registration fee will be due,” said Eesti 200’s Riigikogu whip Toomas Uibo.
The registration tax will consist of a base component of €300 to which components based on the vehicle’s mass and emissions will be added for a lower registration fee than what was initially planned for new and imported vehicles.
“The fee is considerably lower now, cut more than half in some cases courtesy of a wider tax base,” Uibo noted.
More read: ERR.EE