Households in rural areas are at risk of paying hundreds of euros more in taxes for liquid gas. “This is ridiculous. The countryside is being forgotten again by the Randstad!” says Hendrik van Heijst (63), who lives in the Zundert polder. The Liquid Gas Association is sounding the alarm on Thursday.
An excise tax increase for LPG is in the works in The Hague. This threatens to increase the annual bill for propane gas in an average household from 300 to 1,200 euros. So a fourfold increase. At least that is what the Liquefied Gas Association (VVG) says, which is sounding the alarm The Telegraph.
“The gas pipeline stops there five hundred meters away,” Hendrik points out. “It will cost me 12,000 euros if I want to extend the gas pipeline. Of course I’m not going to do that.” That’s why there is a propane tank in his front yard, which needs to be filled monthly. He heats his house with it. Is there no other way? “A wood stove, but that’s even worse.”
He is disappointed that the price is now in danger of becoming higher. “They think, oh, those few tanks. You are being disadvantaged again in the countryside. This is not fair, I have no choice.”
Oliebollen stalls and garden centers
Garden centers, holiday parks, oliebollen stalls or food trucks: they are all affected, according to VVG. “The government looks too much at the motorist when it comes to LPG. They forget that companies and households also use it for heating or the oven,” says chairman of that club, Hans Verhoeven. Switching is not easy. “Homes and businesses often have no choice because they cannot be connected to natural gas.”
Nationally, this concerns one hundred thousand households and SMEs, says the trade association. Brabant figures are not known. “Brabant is a farming province with a lot of rural areas.” Our province is therefore hit relatively hard, he thinks.
Hot air balloons
The news also hit Bram van Loosbroek of Sky Ballonvaarten in Tilburg hard. There they use propane for their hot air balloons. “This has a big impact for us,” he says. “We have eight balloons and make five hundred flights a year. So that’s quite a lot.” He doesn’t understand the measure.
The plan is not yet final. In May, the House of Representatives will debate the excise tax increase. Hendrik errs on the side of caution. “I’ll just turn the heat down a bit.”
2024-04-12 08:55:19
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