New fuel tax sparks scepticism

OPINION: As a new year raises its head so too does a new tax, writes Cherie Sivignon in this week's L'expat.

Yep. The good citizens of France face extra charges on their fuel consumption from 2010.

Despite gnashing of teeth by many in the heartland, President Nicolas Sarkozy is pushing through his plans for a carbon tax.

It's set to cost an extra 4 centimes (8 New Zealand cents) a litre to fill the car. Coal and gas prices are also tipped to rise in order to meet the tax demands of 17 euros ($NZ34) per tonne of carbon dioxide emissions.

That's a double whammy for us, living as we do in the wild delights of the French Alps. We use gas for our cooking and much-loved central heating system and we are dependent on our car to get us and the kids to work and school respectively.

But rural voters are being told not to fear. Those who live in the sticks and therefore have no opportunity to use any form of mass public transport will get money back in the form of income-tax deductions. This new tax, folks, is to be "fiscally neutral". Even city dwellers are due to get some tax credit, about 112 euros ($NZ224) for a family with two children, the Government estimates.

Ha, ha. And you'll love this in New Zealand – electricity consumption is exempt from the tax.

Why, you ask.

Because about 80 per cent of the electricity produced in France comes from nuclear power and, apparently, that's an almost carbon-free process. Yay for those big ugly nuclear plants scattered all over the idyllic French countryside. Who knew they were such planet-friendly operations?

So, what's the message here? Cut down on driving (unless you're a millionaire and can afford an electric car). Stop keeping your home toasty warm with a gas central-heating system (go back to burning wood perhaps? However, steer clear of that nasty coal. Ewww, coal). But, hey, keep those lights burning and those two-bar heaters blasting because electricity is the way to go.

And then, once your behaviour is modified, young greenies, the fraternal Government with its "fiscally neutral" policy will give back your money. All of it.

Yeah, right, say the sceptics among us. Some people suggest this new tax may just be a way to fill the sadly depleted government coffers while giving our dear leader a publicity boost before the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen next month.

I think it all sounds like a lot of hot air and I'm just thankful we live beside the Swiss border and can pop across to fill the petrol tank. It is already about 15 (NZ$30) cheaper to fill up in Switzerland. Come January, it'll be even more attractive.

And don't forget, the Swiss make great chocolate too.

» Cherie Sivignon is a former Southland Times journalist who has moved to France with her French-born husband and their family.

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