Japan May Change Auto Taxes to Focus on Emissions, Sankei Says

By Pavel Alpeyev

Aug. 24 (Bloomberg) -- Japan's government may change auto taxation to focus on carbon-dioxide emissions rather than engine size as part of efforts to fight global warming, the Sankei newspaper reported.

The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry is considering introducing new rules next fiscal year following a similar plan by the European Union, the newspaper reported, without saying where it obtained the information.

Such a change would raise taxes on light vehicles and will probably meet resistance from carmakers, according to the report. Light vehicles with engines smaller than 660 cubic centimeters (40 cubic inches) are favored under the current tax structure, it said.

To contact the reporter on this story: Pavel Alpeyev in Tokyo at palpeyev@bloomberg.net.