Car referendum in times of climate change

2023-07-24 10:17:17

Many people depend on their car – this reality must be compatible with the fight against climate change!

Vienna (OTS) – Many people in Austria are still dependent on their car in everyday life, especially in areas with poor infrastructure. But that does not mean that these people deny climate change or are against environmental protection. Switching to CO2-neutral vehicles, for example with an electric motor, is not yet affordable for these drivers. Until then, we must support them!

We are making three specific demands for a reduction in the burden and harassment of drivers:

Austria has the second highest tax burden for drivers in the EU; In Germany alone, a car costs about a third less per year! All Steer on cars (NoVA, MÖSt, CO2 pricing) must be coordinated and overall reduced by 25% become.
The Repair bonus should also be introduced for car repairs in the interests of sustainability and to relieve people.
Due to the small-scale parking space management (parking stickers, etc.), drivers are still asked to pay. It should be reviewed nationwide.

6.5 million motor vehicles generate 30 billion euros in gross value added every year. Every 12th euro can be traced back to the domestic automotive industry: 354,000 workers or around 8% of all employees in Austria deliver 23 billion euros to the finance minister.

“In times of the climate debate with all its alarmist side effects, the car referendum simply pursues the affordability of the automobile,” explains Gerhard Lustig, initiator of the car referendum, and continues: “The high inflation, the NoVA, the mineral oil tax and the new progressive CO2 pricing are all aimed at the same thing and are simply too much. Motorists are the milk cow of the nation.”

After Belgium, Austria levies the second highest taxes on motor vehicles and thus places an excessive burden on drivers. Due to the increased inflation, many people can hardly afford their car, even though they depend on it. Reason enough, reduce taxes and duties by 25%. As things stand today, that would save 670 euros, an important relief for all those who depend on their own car.

Taxpayers don’t care which of these taxes is reduced, as long as the overall burden is reduced. “The mineral oil tax, for example, is an EU requirement with at least 33%, Austria exaggerates it and collects almost 40%,” argues merry.

Ein repair bonus for cars strikes a chord with drivers who can’t afford to buy a new car. The repair bonus for e-devices has shown that you can create a great incentive for sustainability. Why shouldn’t that also work for cars? Repairing existing vehicles using state-of-the-art technology is more sustainable than producing new vehicles. Even with a new e-car, the CO2 footprint of production is so high that you first have to drive it many tens of thousands of kilometers before it pays off in this respect. In addition, e-cars are not (yet) affordable for most people.

“The great efforts of the automotive industry for the sustainable maintenance of vehicles must be supported,” argues industry expert Lustig: “Politicians should also introduce the repair bonus for the automotive industry and use it as a means of controlling to promote measures to reduce consumption and pollutant emissions!”

Thousands of declarations of support already show the usefulness of the car referendum, even in times of climate change. Anyone who drives a car is not automatically a climate denier!

The developments in the parking management have recently shown dramatically that they are not looking for common solutions, but that each municipality, sometimes even each district, only focuses on its own interests.

In order to find sensible, joint solutions here, politicians should develop a master plan that takes everyone’s interests into account and ensures that the municipalities can no longer act according to the Floriani principle, and that clever solutions are created that focus on the people and not the municipal coffers.

More than 100,000 votes are needed for the referendum to be dealt with in the National Council. Since the start, more than 16,000 people have already signed the car referendum; However, the realistic goal of the initiators is to surpass the legal hurdle by far by the end of the registration period.

All adult voters living in Austria can sign the people’s petition “Costs down!” at any municipal or district office. It’s even easier online with a mobile phone signature. The website www.autovolksbegehren.at informed in detail.