SANTIAGO: Chile’s new environmental tax on vehicle purchases has generated CLP735m (USD1.17m) during the first month of its operation, the Treasury announced on January 26, 2015.
The tax – levied on the sale of new, diesel-powered light vehicles – is intended to encourage the use of environmentally friendly vehicles and fuels. It was included in a package of tax reform measures enacted in September 2014 and came into force at the beginning of this year. It is calculated according to a vehicle’s nitrogen oxide emissions and its price.
7,438 newly imported vehicles were declared to the authorities during the first month of the new tax, the Treasury said. The commune of Las Condes recorded the most revenue (CLP60.15m), followed by Santiago (CLP36.1m). The largest tax payment for a single vehicle was CLP2.3m on a Porsche with a retail value of CLP72m (USD115,000).The Treasury expects the tax to provide roughly CLP60bn in revenue this year, with vehicles generating an average of CLP225,000 in revenues.
