The Lucid Air is currently one of the cars with the longest range. (Image: Lucid Motors)
The government has made a mistake that means that owners of electric cars will pay significantly more taxes from 2026.
For years, the government tried to stimulate the sale of electric cars. This should contribute to achieving the climate goals. This means you now pay no road tax at all for your electric car.
Because there are now many more electric cars and this costs the treasury a lot of money, the previous government chose to phase out this discount. This would happen gradually from 2025. However, the process is proceeding faster than previously thought. This has everything to do with a calculation error by the government.
Owners of electric cars have to pay more taxes
The original plan was that owners of electric cars would see their tax benefit reduced from 75 percent to 0 from 2026. However, the previous government decided to extend that discount. In 2026, the discount would increase to 50 percent, eventually reducing to 30 percent in 2030, after which the discount would stop completely.
However, a calculation error was made in this plan. In addition to the fact that extending the discount would cost the treasury 1.7 billion euros, the government was in danger of losing an additional 3.8 billion euros.
The Polestar 2 (Image: Polestar)
The weight of electric cars was not sufficiently taken into account when calculating the discount. These vehicles are heavier than their petrol equivalents. Since in the Netherlands road tax is calculated on the weight of the car, this means that the tax discount represents a larger amount than for regular cars. The previous government did not take this into account.
Due to this calculation error, the discount would cost the government 1.5 billion euros more than expected. But that is not the only mistake: the government also assumed that fewer electric cars would be sold than was actually the case. This means that the discount applies to many more owners than originally calculated. This additional use of the tax costs another 2.3 billion, bringing the total to 3.8 billion euros.
Consequences for owners and the market
As a result of these mistakes, owners of electric cars still suffer. The tax credit will be significantly reduced to close the budget gap. Instead of a gradual reduction of the discount – from 75 percent in 2025, to 40 percent between 2026 and 2028, and 30 percent in 2029 and 2030 – the discount will now go to 25 percent from 2026 and disappear completely in 2030, reports The Telegraph.
This is a major setback for people with an electric car. Although these vehicles are better for the environment, their heavy weight means they pay significantly more taxes than petrol car owners. This can also have a major impact on sales, as the higher costs can deter potential buyers.
Do you still want an electric car? Take a look below to see which beautiful models await us soon.
These beautiful electric cars should appear soon
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