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Transport Companies Ask for Reduction in Road Tax Due to Toll System
Saturday 02 January 2010 Zoom in | Print page
Bratislava, January 2 (TASR) - Small and medium-sized transport companies in Slovakia request an immediate reduction in road tax and excise tax on motor fuels, said spokesman of the newly-formed Union of Slovakia's Carriers (UNAS) Jaroslav Polacek at a press conference on Saturday.
"We want the road tax to be significantly decreased as compensation for the introduction of the electronic road-toll system. That was the case in countries where the road-toll system has been applied," said Polacek.
To this end, UNAS will launch an information and petition campaign at petrol stations. "One of the popular promises thanks to which Robert Fico has become Slovak Premier was the promise to decrease the excise tax on motor fuels and his commitment to build highways reaching from the West to the East of the country by 2010. We all liked this," said Polacek, adding that the Premier hasn't delivered on his promises.
Due to the higher excise tax, drivers in Slovakia pay on average 30 cents more for petrol and diesel than those in neighbouring countries. According to Polacek, the time has come for Fico to fulfil his pre-election promise. UNAS wants the Government to decrease the excise tax to the average level of neighbourhood countries, amounting to €0.371 per litre of petrol and €0.298 per litre of diesel oil.
UNAS also asks for the new road-toll system, which has been put into full operation as of January 1, to be postponed. During the suspension of the system, according to UNAS, the Transport Ministry should revise the toll roads map to include only essential sections, due to the exclusion of transit travel from highways. The individual toll road sections should be divided into sections with more accurate measurement of kilometres actually travelled. "Carriers should be charged only with the actual distance travelled and not with the entire length of the road. The most expensive and modern GPS-GSM system must allow this," said Polacek.
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