Switzerland
The 26 cantons of Switzerland used (and use) a variety of different taxation methods. Originally, all of Switzerland used the tax horsepower, calculated as follows:
- where
- i is the number of cylinders,
- d is the diameter (or bore) of the cylinder in cm
- S is the piston stroke in cm
The limits between the horsepower denominations were drawn at either 0.49, 0.50, or 0.51 in different cantons. Thus, the eight horsepower category would cover cars of about 7.5 - 8.5 CV. As of 1966, thirteen cantons changed to a taxation system based on displacement (with certain minor differences). In 1973 Berne switched to a taxation system based on vehicle weight, and a few other cantons followed. In 1986 Ticino switched to a system based on a calculation including engine size and weight. Nonetheless, the tax horsepower system remains in effect for seven cantons as of 2007. The plethora of different taxation systems has contributed to there always being an uncommonly wide variety of different cars marketed in Switzerland.
Read more about this topic: Tax Horsepower
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—Sydney Smith (1771–1845)