SCMP – 19th March 2008
Lawmakers urged the government yesterday to dig deeper into its pockets to speed up the replacement of polluting vehicles in the city. The calls came after the budget had proposed introducing registration tax concessions for new vehicles meeting the Euro V emissions standard. The scheme will provide a 30 to 100 per cent tax cut – ranging from HK$8,500 to HK$78,000 – depending on the type of vehicle. It was estimated that such a programme would cost HK$26 million a year. At the legislature’s environmental panel meeting, lawmakers from all major parties questioned whether the new scheme would be sufficiently attractive and effective.