Finance Minister rejects proposal to for progressive excise duty on autos

Finance Minister Jaroslaw Bauc has announced that his office does not envisage raising excise duty on passenger cars in 2001. Currently the duty on domestically produced cars powered by 2-liter engines is 6%, while those with larger engine capacities are levied 15%. The duty on imported cars is 6.4% and 17.6%, respectively. Confusion over the level of duties was sparked by deputy Economy Minister Edward Nowak's proposal to introduce a progressive tax, i.e. a levy proportional to the capacity of the engines, thus introducing more than the current two brackets. Nowak has however withdrawn his proposal. (Puls Biznesu, p. 7).