Italy to subsidize scrapping old cars with ?1,500 tax cut
France and Germany are already giving money to their citizens if they scrap an old clanker to buy a new, fuel-efficient car. It's time now for Italy to do the same. The government, led by Silvio Berlusconi, has decided to offer a €1,500 tax cut for those who purchase a new car and scrap one which is at least 10 years old. The official reason is, of course, to protect the environment, since any car older than 10 years is likely to be more polluting than a modern one. Of course, this might also boost the country's car industry at the same time. I mean, car production in Italy is at the same level today as it was in 1961.
[Source: Le Blog Auto]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
John Metcalf 11:54AM (2/11/2009)
Japan has been doing something similar for years, but with a stick rather than a carrot. My understanding is that the cost of keeping a 10+ year old car on the car is quite high. Encourages those new car purchases.
I personally like the carrot idea better.
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Amtoro 12:36PM (2/11/2009)
It would be nice to see an alternative to scraping old cars, like a similar tax incentive to convert those little jewels like the one on the picture to electric drive.
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Ben 2:14PM (2/11/2009)
Many cars are still in great shape (and running clean) after 10 years. Scrapping such a car is wasteful. Making taxpayers pay to scrap it is stupid.
Sounds like a program that is sure to be laced with unintended consequences. For instance, all the sudden a 9 year-old car would be worth more than a 7 year-old car (it is closer to being eligible for the incentive). Customers who would normally upgrade at say 7 years will wait a few years to receive the incentive.
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Bill 2:11PM (2/11/2009)
Not much of an incentive considering what new cars cost in European markets.
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