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Kilometre tax could be back on agenda at next election

A plan to tax motorists by the number of kilometres they travel would cut tailbacks by more than a third, a report has concluded.

The Christian Democrat party (CDA), which wants to introduce the measure, said it should be as straightforward as possible, with car owners sent a bill each year based on the distance covered.

The ‘kilometre tax’ (kilometerheffing) would replace the current road tax system, which taxes car ownership rather than use, and is seen as a more pro-environmental measure.

The CDA’s scientific institute (WI) produced a report which claimed that the number of tailbacks would reduce by between 35 and 40 per cent if drivers were taxed by the journey.

The idea is opposed by the CDA’s coalition partners, the Liberals (VVD), and the Freedom Party (PVV), which is propping up the minority coalition. Opposition parties support the move in principle, but have queried the detail.

A previous attempt to introduce a kilometre tax was abandoned when the previous government fell.

The CDA has also stripped out many of the controversial details from its original plan, which envisaged installing a metre in every car to count the kilometres and charging a higher ‘rush-hour’ rate during the busiest traffic periods.

The tax will not be introduced by the current government, as agreed under the terms of the coalition, but the CDA want to include it in future election campaigns.

Source: De Pers: CDA-instituut bepleit eenvoudige kilometerheffing

Photo by Peter Visser