Owners of old vehicles had a shock when they received the amount of their 2025 car tax. For some, the bill increased by 500%.
In Geneva, owners of old vehicles had a shock when they recently received the amount of their 2025 car tax. For some, the bill increases by 500%.
The information was revealed by Léman Bleu and the Tribune de Genève. At TCS Geneva, it was reported on Tuesday that it received numerous calls from worried people. Financially speaking, for part of the population, it is difficult to withstand such a massive blow, occurring, moreover, at the end of the year.
The phone calls mainly come from people from the lower middle class or retirees, who have cars more than 15 years old, specifies Yves Gerber, the director of the Geneva section of the TCS.
At the origin of these spectacular increases is a cantonal law accepted in a vote last March. Entitled “For an eco-responsible and fair taxation of motor vehicles”, the text was a counter-proposal to a UDC initiative which called for a halving of the tax on vehicles.
CO2 emissions
The new rules in force subject electric or hydrogen vehicles to taxation based on empty weight. Thermal vehicles are taxed based on their CO emissions.2. A measure which, ultimately, strongly penalizes certain owners of old cars, regardless of engine capacity.
For example, for a petrol VW Polo, dating from 2001, the tax jumps from 210 francs to 750 francs. This amount is made up of the annual tax of 120 francs and a surcharge on CO emissions.2 which amounts to 630 francs. The slip specifies that the total is payable by December 31 at the latest.
For the owner of a 1998 Citroën Evasion petrol family minivan, emitting 252 grams of CO2 per kilometer, the bill is even higher. His car tax went from 297 francs to 2,100 francs, notes Mr. Gerber. According to him, motorhome owners are also facing massive increases.
Questioned by the Tribune de Genève, Lucien Willemin, the author of the book “Stop automobile waste”, describes this new Geneva law as an “environmental disaster”, because it encourages automobile waste. He points out that a car, with its 180,000 components, is a very polluting object to manufacture.
It would be wiser, according to Mr. Willemin, “to take care of our vehicles and make them last.” The speaker recalls that the manufacturing of a vehicle “is not clean at all”. It requires sending toxic substances into the air, water and soil. “But this chemical pollution cannot be compensated for with use.”
Political reactions
Several political parties have reacted to these brutal increases in automobile taxes. The Liberties and Social Justice (LJS) movement is campaigning, for example, for the introduction of a tax cap on motor vehicle taxes. The MCG, for its part, is outright proposing a moratorium on 2025 car tax increases.
The UDC, which denounces “an insane increase”, will, for its part, resubmit its bill which aims to reduce “this unfair tax” by half. The party will request its addition to the agenda of Thursday’s session of the Geneva Grand Council, as well as urgency and immediate discussion.
The PLR, for its part, is asking for monthly payments of the 2025 car tax. It has announced the tabling of a bill along these lines. The radical liberals also call for a review of the law which was adopted by the people to eliminate inconsistencies and very significant threshold effects.
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