NEW CAR TAXATION AND ITS UNINTENDED ENVIRONMENTAL CONSEQUENCES

In Italy, in 2011 the Superbollo tax was introduced for newly registered cars exceeding 185 kW. Although the aim of the tax was not to reduce CO2 emission as it was actually aimed at increasing government revenues during the economic crisis, we show that it had significant and unexpected impacts on buyers’ behavior. Using data related to the universe of vehicles registered between 2008 and 2017 and by using a difference-in-difference framework, we find that the Superbollo had a significant role in reducing CO2 emissions and in increasing the car share with low CO2 emissions. In particular, we show that the introduction of the Superbollo shifted consumers towards greener cars, not necessarily ecological (e.g. electric), with a subsequent reduction in the emission of CO2 per kilometer traveled of an order of magnitude of 5 to 7%.