The road tax discount for electric cars will be phased out more quickly next year than previously planned. With this, the Ministry of Finance wants to wipe away a calculation error worth billions.
Last spring, the previous cabinet decided to maintain the tax benefit for electric cars for a little longer. This was initially going to stop in 2026, but was replaced by a phase-out path until 2030: the road tax discount went from 40 percent in 2026 to 30 percent in 2030, after which the discount would stop.
Miscalculation of almost 4 billion
But this did not take into account the fact that electric cars are heavier than cars that run on fossil fuels. A higher weight means a higher tax and therefore also a higher discount in euros. To be precise, € 1.5 billion higher, as Finance Minister Heinen calculated. The difference in weight was ‘not properly included in the financial calculations’ this spring, a ministry spokesperson told De Telegraaf. In addition, old sales figures were used for calculations, which does not take into account that more electric cars are already being sold. That will cost the treasury another €2.3 billion.
In the million dollar bill, the tax discount for plug-in cars is now limited to 25% from 2025, after which it will be reduced to zero in 2030.
Source: De Telegraaf
