There is a country where you have to pay a tax of around 100 thousand euros to buy a new car. This means encouraging citizens to use local public transportation, which is considered among the most efficient means of transportation in the world. We are in Singapore, a city-state with a population of 5.5 million.
Per capita income here is around 70 thousand euros per year, the sixth highest in the world, just above that of the United States and almost twice that of Italy. Therefore, it is a rich country where millionaires are concentrated. But most families cannot afford to buy a new car. For example, the price of a standard Toyota Camry Hybrid is approximately 180 thousand euros, almost five times the price in Europe and the USA.
The reason for this can be attributed, first of all, to the ten-year-old Certificate of Entitlement (Coe) system, which was introduced in 1990 as a measure against traffic congestion. You must have this certificate in order to purchase a vehicle. And every two weeks, Coe is sold at auction under the strict control of the government, which sets a limit on the number of certificates that must not be exceeded, depending on the number of old cars thrown away. As a result, Coe reached an average price of 100 thousand euros. A cost that is added to other taxes and the base price of vehicles and inflated due to import duties.
The system did not affect the sales of luxury vehicles. On the other hand, it also allowed the number of cars in circulation to drop to just under 1 million: In Italy, for example, there are 67 vehicles for every 100 people. In Singapore, the rate is less than 20 per 100 people. For those who can’t afford a car, there’s public transport that’s considered among the best in the world: last year, more than $60 billion was earmarked for the expansion and renewal of the country’s rail network over the next decade.
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Source: Today IT

Karen Clayton is a seasoned journalist and author at The Nation Update, with a focus on world news and current events. She has a background in international relations, which gives her a deep understanding of the political, economic and social factors that shape the global landscape. She writes about a wide range of topics, including conflicts, political upheavals, and economic trends, as well as humanitarian crisis and human rights issues.