The German government has rejected accusations by the Irish Road Haulage Association (IRHA) that a new toll on trucks using its autobahn system will discriminate against non-German transport firms.
The IRHA claimed yesterday that the new toll of up to 15 cents a kilometre, combined with a rebate system for truckers who refuel in Germany, would increase transport costs by nearly one-fifth when it is introduced next month.
"The system doesn't discriminate against non-German transport companies; it is applied equally to all trucks on German roads," said Mr Michael Zirpel, spokesman for the transport ministry in Berlin yesterday.
The president of the IRHA, Mr Eamonn Morrissey, said the tax would lead to job losses and price increases for Irish consumers. "We simply can't go on carrying the can for these taxes that are introduced by weak governments without fully considering the implications on industry at large," he said.
The most controversial aspect of Germany's new per kilometre toll, which supersedes the existing Europe-wide toll agreement, is a €600 million fund the IRHA says will unfairly benefit German transport companies.
Berlin says the system, allowing companies to write off tolls against petrol bought in Germany, rebalances the scales for German truckers.
German petrol prices are higher than in neighbouring countries because of an environmental tax and a petrol tax used to fund road-building. That leaves German firms at a disadvantage to competitors who work in Germany after buying cheaper fuel in neighbouring countries, the government says.
"The rebate will be paid to all transport companies that pay the new autobahn toll and buy fuel in Germany, regardless of their country of origin," said Mr Zirpel.
The state-of-the-art tolling system will use trackers built over the road to communicate with onboard transponders, monitoring the movement of trucks and calculating tolls.
"At this rate truckers passing through Europe will have 20 different black boxes in their truck," said Mr Jimmy Quinn, spokesman for the IRHA.
