Electromobility — any negative consequences?
Discussions of politicians, scientists and general public concerning the Green deal and climate target plan has been part of our media world for several couple of last years. EU defined a climate target plan for minimal decrease of greenhouse gas emissions by at least 55 % below 1990 levels by 2030 and to get a carbon neutrality by 2050. In this respect, the Czech government has recently started a support program of almost 2 billions CZK for acquisition of new electric vehicle or new charging station construction. As a result, the vehicle owners, passengers, and the whole automotive industry are highly motivated to zero-emission mobility represented mostly by electric vehicles (EV).
However, are the macroeconomic financial consequences of electromobility development always positive? The team from Škoda Auto Vysoká Škola initiated research to identify tax externalities of an increased number of electric vehicles in the Czech Republic.
Þ The first research phase was mainly focused on the analysis of different categories of vehicles (i.e. cars, vans, buses, trucks) with the specific type of fuel (gasoline, diesel, gas, electricity) in the period 2015–2023 with a comparison with other EU states. During the process of data collection, we extremely appreciated the cooperation with Centrum dopravního výzkumu.
Þ In the second phase, the research team developed a unique calculation model of tax revenues related to vehicles operated in the Czech Republic in the years 2015–2023, focusing on revenues from VAT and consumption taxes from fuels and toll.
Þ The third phase was represented by the publicly opened workshop with participants from automotive and energy industry, consulting segment and also students which allowed the discussion on practical implications of the data collected and methodology applied so far. We have especially valued the comments and follow-up discussion with Svaz dovozců automobilů.
The preliminary results of our research show that the Czech Republic is in initial phase of electromobility development. There were 32 253 electric vehicles registered as of 31.12. 2022, which represent only 0.38 % of all vehicles in the Czech Republic. However, the year-on-year increase recognized in recent years is significant up to 61 %.
Although current tax implications connected with the low share of EV can be treated as negligible to the total fiscal balance, the results indicate a multiple difference between the tax revenue collected with respect to the operation of electric vehicles and tax loss relating to the fossil fuel vehicles being replaced by electric vehicles. Therefore, despite other possible positive externalities, the electromobility development can represent significant issue for the future fiscal balance of the Czech Republic if the tax system is not adequately adjusted.
