French parliament adopted the "eco-tax" law

Posted on October 21, 2008 by Matthieu Desiderio

Loi Grenelle I (Grenelle I law) adopted, measures follow…

Following up with the Environment Roundtable (Grenelle de l’Environnement), the French Parliament approved on Oct. 16, 2008, the eco-tax law for trucks. The tax will be applied to all trucks over 3.5 tons on French roads, starting at best in 2011. The tax will embraces all national State roads, departmental (regional), and local networks (existing toll roads excluded) and the financial benefits will be gathered into a State fund for infrastructures, managed by the Transport Infrastructure Financing Agency (Agence de financement des infrastructures de transport, AFITF). The first step will be the test phase in the Alsace region (German border) in 2011, and the system will be extended to the whole country in 2012.

Carriers will pay more… Customers will thus pay the bill

Transportation Secretary Dominique Busserau estimated the “eco-tax” will gather between 800 million and 1.2 billion euros per year, that could be allocated to the Transport Infrastructures fund. It however will not be enough – apparently – to fill the gap which the AFITF is falling in. It seems France’s Highway Trust Fund like fund also encounters financial difficulties…

Even if it will not be enough to fund our infrastructure, it will still be State public money to be invested in our nation’s transport systems… The question is: who will pay? At first, all trucking industry complains but the Transportation Secretary guaranteed the tax will be reported at the bottom of each transport bills… meaning the clients will pay for it. Transportation professionnals still become alarmed of the consequences: trucking associations estimated the cost of this new tax at around 1.5 billion euros. Another question to rise: where those 300-700 million euros differences come from/go to? No one apparently knows or would be disposed to explain.

Trucking industry protests…

In a period of financial crisis, where companies failures occur more than ever (+82% compared to a year before), trucking industry associations and professionals are complaining about this new way to tax trucks… In a recent article in Ouest-France (regional newspaper from western France), French National Trucking Association (Fédération Nationale des Transports Routiers, FNTR) President, Mr. Patrick Vermot-Desroches, totally disagreed with this regulation, that is, according to him, not at all an environmental oriented measure but simply a new tax to refund a diminishing State budget!

A Nantes, le président de la FNTR s’insurge contre l’éco-taxe des camions

Présent à Nantes pour le salon Technotrans, le président de la fédération nationale des transports routiers (FNTR), Patrick Vermot-Desroches, s’est insurgé contre l’éco-redevance adoptée par les parlementaires. « Ce n’est pas une éco-taxe. C’est une taxe poids-lourd qui n’a aucun lien avec des préoccupations environnementales. C’est une redevance destinée à combler les caisses de l’Etat. »

Source: Ouest-France, Oct. 16, 2008 (see References below)

The French Government however guaranteed it will analyse the impact of the “eco-tax” law implementation on the private businesses health. The Government also plans to adapt the tax upon the situation of each region (with or without other transport alternatives, geographical impact, etc.). Despite these good will, the French State did not however explain how the tax will be transferred from carriers to their clients…

References

Article: Le parlement français adopte l’écotaxe, Le Lloyd, Oct. 20, 2008: here
Article: A Nantes, le président de la FNTR s’insurge contre l’éco-taxe des camions, Ouest-France, Oct. 16, 2008: here
Article: L’écotaxe poids lourds est adoptée, WK-Transport-Logistique.fr, Oct. 16, 2008: here
Article: Écotaxe poids lourds : Bussereau s’explique à l’Assemblée, L’Officiel des Transporteurs, Sep. 19, 2008: here

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