Netherlands, probably the most expensive country in Europe to own and drive a car. Here you pay:
When buying or importing a car.
- untill recently, purchase tax, some 45-50% of the new price. The percentage goes down as the car ages, this still counts for importing used cars before the switch to CO2 tax.
- replaced as of 2011 by "CO2 tax", also really expensive, but at least not punishing people who pay more to get a more fuel efficient car.
- 21% sales tax, on both the purchase price and the tax.
To own a car, you pay:
-Car ownership tax, based on vehicle weight and fuel type. As an educated guess:
start at €160/year at 551 kg, add €40 for every 100 kg extra, multiply by 3 for diesel and LPG (propane) before '96. Those aren't the official numbers, but its pretty spot on. (Theres a calculator that lets you calculate the exact number, but I won't post that here, its in Dutch.)
-Cars over 40 are exempt of this tax.
-Electric cars are currently exempt, but rumor has it that in 2016, they'll pay half the petrol tarif.
-Car has to be inspected every year, but its not that expensive. Its good, because it keeps the real scrapheaps off of the road. (I pay about €40/year to my garage)
-3nd party insurance, I pay about €468 a year (this year). 4 years ago, I paid almost €1k a year.
- Fuel prices are 3x what they are in the USA, because of tax.
- Electricity prices are.. you guessed it, around €0.25/kwh due to tax.
- Automated speed traps everywhere, and confusing time-based speed limits to trick people into speeding. Real nice. "its for safety", sure. (The fines are also really super high compared to our neighboring countries.)
If you get a company car, and you also drive it in your private time, a percentage of the value of the car is added to your taxable income, over which you pay 52% income tax.
Anywhere beteen 0% (electric), 7% (hybrids, electric after the recent tax raise), 14% (hybrid after the recent tax raise, small diesels), 20 (most 'regular' cars) and 25% (sporty cars), depending on how fuel efficient your car is.
And obviously, the company still pays all the other taxes associated with owning the car.
Owning a car here is clearly a privilege thats well-exploited by the government.