Economy Ministry pushing for higher taxes on used-car imports

The Economy Ministry announced on Thursday that Poland plans to radically raise taxes on imported used-cars in a bid to protect the interests of domestic car manufacturers, whose sales fell a dizzying 22% year-on-year to 451,000 units in the Jan.-Nov. 2000 period. Analysts claim that the decline was due primarily to growing used-car imports from the European Union, high interest rates, mounting fuel prices and increased excise taxes on new cars. Deputy Economy Minister Edward Nowak told the PAP news agency that the tax would jump to between 6.4% and 64% from the current 6.4%. He added that the government's economy committee (KERM) had accepted the proposed increase on Thursday and that the cabinet would announce a final decision within two weeks. (Reuters, Rzeczpospolita, p.B2)