ROAD TRANSPORT IN FRANCE: ITS BALANCE ACCOUNT FOR PUBLIC FINANCE

Road transport is heavily taxed in most European countries. France is no exception. Just as in many other countries a debate is raging there about whether or not road users are paying a "fair share" for the costs they impose on the nation or at least on the Treasury. It is common wisdom in France that road use is subsidized, but this assertion is usually not based on fact, as if no data were available. However, cost allocation studies have been carried out, tax revenues have been reported, and officially published data give almost all the necessary elements to settle the debate. In my opinion, the confusion comes from the way taxes are accounted for. This study discusses the premises under which taxes paid by road users should or should not be considered as specific to the road sector and, thus, put in balance with public expenditure also specific to the road sector. It then proposes an account of this balance and concludes that: (i) as a whole, the road sector is amply a net contributor to the Treasury, (ii) the specific taxes and fees paid by trucks cover the public expenditure on road maintenance and operation and almost all investment expenditure that could be allocated to trucks, and (iii) cars and light commercial vehicles pay a disproportionate share of the total costs that, alone, outweighs all public expenditure on the road sector.

• Record URL:
  http://onlinepubs.trb.org/Onlinepubs/trr/1995/1498/1498-003.pdf
• Record URL:
  https://scholar.google.com/scholar_lookup?title=ROAD+TRANSPORT+IN+FRANCE%3A+ITS+BALANCE+ACCOUNT+FOR+PUBLIC+FINANCE&author=R.+Darbera&publication_year=1995
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• Supplemental Notes:
  • This paper appears in Transportation Research Record No. 1498, Transportation Finance, Training, Strategic Management, and Economic Analysis. Distribution, posting, or copying of this PDF is strictly prohibited without written permission of the Transportation Research Board of the National Academy of Sciences. Unless otherwise indicated, all materials in this PDF are copyrighted by the National Academy of Sciences. Copyright © National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved
• Authors:
  • Darbera, Richard
• Publication Date: 1995

Language

• English

Media Info

• Features: References; Tables;
• Pagination: p. 16-22
• Monograph Title: Transportation finance, training, strategic management, and economic analysis
• Serial:
  • Transportation Research Record
  • Issue Number: 1498
  • Publisher: Transportation Research Board
  • ISSN: 0361-1981

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Automobiles; Cost allocation; Equity; Expenditures; Fees; Highway maintenance; Highway operations; Highway user taxation; Light trucks; Trucks
• Geographic Terms: France
• Subject Areas: Finance; Highways; Motor Carriers; Society; I10: Economics and Administration;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00714958
• Record Type: Publication
• ISBN: 0309061628
• Files: TRIS, TRB, ATRI
• Created Date: Dec 21 1995 12:00AM