Thanks for the tips. It's true, sometimes I could combine private with business, and then it could qualify as a business ride. But those occasions are rare. And I need to keep an exact log of every kilometer I drive. Moreover, the tax service takes pictures of licence plates along the roads, and if your car is spotted somewhere and it does not correspond with your log, you will have to pay the tax plus a hefty fine.
But first let me explain how the system works:
- If we buy a car in The Netherlands, there first is a 19% VAT, which makes for a total price of €115.000 ($155.000) for a Karma Sport. I won't have to pay that VAT because I'm buying it through my business.
- Then there is a special CO2-tax on cars, which is somewhere between 20 and 30% depending on CO2-output. But below 110 grams (Karma) you pay nothing.
- Then there is a road tax (about 30-100 euro per month depending on the weigth of the car). But cars under 95 grams (Karma) are exempt from this tax.
- And finally there is a tax which you pay if the car is paid for by your company (the company you work for or, as in my case, the company you own). If you drive the car for more than 500 km privately per year, it is considered wage and you have to add a certain percentage of the value of the new car to your income (which means paying more income taxes). Every year again!
Again depending on C02-output the percentage can be 25, 20, 14 or 0. The last percentage is when the car has a CO2-output of 49 grams or less. The Karma misses this by 2 grams now, which means it falls in the 14%-category. With a price of 115.000 euro, this means adding 16.100 euro to your income every year, thus paying 8370 euro extra taxes every year (at 52%, the high rate I'm paying).
I can avoid that by either driving less than 500 km privately - which I planned on doing - or if Fisker can scrape another 2 grams of the score for its European Karma's. Some finetuning (software?) might do the trick and get it to 49 grams. In more countries in Europe the 50 grams is an important threshold for taxes/rebates, so that would be a wise thing to do for Fisker, as it would make them sell more cars. And I would be a very happy person.
(Yes, we pay a lot of taxes and they are very high. But we do have a comfortable life, health care for everyone, good child care, good schools, social care and good roads).