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Minister defends ´cheaper´ kilometer taxThursday 26 November 2009 The introduction of an extra rush-hour charge on top of the standard kilometer tax will not leave most motorists worse off, transport minister Camiel Eurlings told MPs on Wednesday evening. Such claims are untrue and alarmist, Eurlings said during a parliamentary debate on the transport ministry´s 2010 spending plans, which was dominated by the new tax. Earlier this month, ministers agreed to bring in a kilometer tax for all motorists, which will start at three cents a kilometer for the most energy-efficient cars. The tax is due to be launched in 2012 although many experts doubt this will be possible. Attack The plan has been under sustained attack from opposition MPs who say it will cost motorists more than the road and sales tax it replaces, and that it infringes on privacy. Each car is to be fitted with a GPS transmitter which will monitor the length and duration of every journey. The Telegraaf newspaper has also mounted a campaign against what it calls the ´spy box´. And the motoring organisation ANWB, which at first supported the scheme, now appears to have doubts. Chairman Guido van Woerkom has demanded Eurlings come clean about the extra rush-hour charges before the ANWB gives its backing, most papers report on Thursday. Lower charges Eurlings claims some 58% of motorists will be better off when the tax is introduced. And the peak-period fee will be ´much much lower´ than the claims of between €1 and 25 cents which have been circulating, he told MPs on Wednesday. Meanwhile, Christian Democrat MPs who said last week they would oppose regional rush-hour charges apart from the Amsterdam ring road toll appear to have changed their position, the Volkskrant says. ´Extra measures against jams will be necessary in some places,´MP Sander de Rouwe was reported as saying. The cabinet will decide when and where the extra rush-hour tax will be introduced later this year, the paper said. Hard-working Liberal MP Charlie Aptroot said the add-on fee would ´hit the hard-working Dutchman even more.´ The new tax is backed by the three coalition parties together with the fundamentalist Christian SGP, left-wing greens Groenlinks and the Liberal democrats D66. They argue the new system will be much fairer because people who drive the most will pay more tax. ChristenUnie MP Ernst Cramer said the measure is ´a milestone´ in terms of making motoring more sustainable. © DutchNews.nl Get the DutchNews.nl newsletter in your mailbox: Click here to subscribe
The biggest problem with the plan is the tracking device in every vehicle. Goodness knows what the government will do with that data. There is already a tax on fuel which means that motorists already pay per km and they pay in proportion to the efficiency of their engine and their driving style. By Mark | November 26, 2009 8:51 AM How would all this work with foreign visitors and their cars? By barry | November 26, 2009 10:06 AM I'd like to know what the aim of this government is exactly.. they impose higher fees to discourage people from driving and use public transport instead...but then train prices are also rising... plus the FNV has to actually fight over a measley 1.25% salary increase which doesnt even cover the extra health insurance costs. Do they want people to struggle, do they want people to reminisce what it was like 'during the war'? i mean i know the dutch are associated with being cheap but this is getting a bit tired..and ridiculous By Jennifer | November 26, 2009 11:38 AM Minister Eurlings is trying to outsmart the MP's by shifting the focus from his blatant privacy invasion - putting tracking devices on the people's cars. He is directing the argument towards negotiating the amount of the tax. In the same time the individual RFID chipcards for the public transport are pushed... Why does this government insist to track everybody so much? By George | November 26, 2009 12:14 PM It is illogical for the government to make driving cheaper. People have to travel to their work along the same roads. The traffic jams will not be reduced by an increase or decrease in tax. The only benefit from the proposed pay-per-kilometer system will be that the government can trace our movements. If the government seriously wants to reduce traffic (jams), it must limit car sales, advertising, & add extra lanes to existing roads. Furthermore: improve the public transport network & make it more affordable, thus reducing the necessity for private vehicles. For this to happen, we need a government that GENUINELY cares about it's citizens, but when??? Sensible investment & not hi-tech satellite GPS tracking will win the day.
By stevie | November 26, 2009 12:54 PM I cannot understand why they associate low CO2 emissions with small cars - it's an assumption - Ministers and advisers please read the data. My medium sized 1.4Ton car, 'mijn roelstol-auto", that before being hit, on a clear motorway, up the rear, by a Huisart was doing 24Km per liter average - up to 32Km/l on long journeys. By Gerard | November 26, 2009 1:57 PM So I guess we'll see even more foreign registered cars on our roads. I thought the rule was that after three months in NL you have to register the car here and pay import duty (my British friend had to). Why is it then that there is a Polish car down my road that has been is regular use for the last two years? This means that he's not paying any road tax here, and won't get a GPS tracker. Nice tax dodge. By simplastic | November 26, 2009 2:11 PM If the introduction of the kilometer tax will make it better off for the 58% of the motorists, then they will certainly stick to their vehicles regardless. The so-called 42% of the motorists worse off will either pay the heavier tax if they don't have a choice (like myself) or change their lifestyle (e.g. get a new job or school closer to home). There will certainly be social effects due to this introduction (e.g. certain companies looking for people with scarce skills set will find it more difficult to attract candidates and may end up having to pay more for their employees'travel costs) and overall, I think there may be relatively less traffic jams at major highways it will cause heavier congestions around the city catchment areas. Eventually, foreign employers will relocate because of the increasingly high costs to operate in the Netherlands. In the end, this only means more income for the Dutch government (although it remains to be seen if this is true when foreign companies relocate). Traffic congestion will be minimally reduced in some areas but increased elsewhere. Once again, it is the people who will have to accomodate by paying more to live their lives and lose their privacy in the process. Limit car sales? Forget it. Car manufacturing giants have powerful lobby groups in the government, forget it. For me, I don't mind paying more if it means I can get from A to B without traffic jams, but I doubt it. Furthermore, my biggest issue is the infringement of my rights to privacy. This is really taking it too far this time. By Jonathan | November 26, 2009 4:25 PM "Extra measures against jams will be necessary in some places" .. on whose behalf? What for? People who don't travel don't need to worry. People who do, are they being asked? - I am willing to sit on the A6 in the jam rather than have spy tech implanted in my car .. it is still faster than using the train. My prediction - within 5 years you will get automatic debits for speed infringements, within 10 you will need to book using a particular road at a particular time or be fined. Once they put in the infrastructure "for your own good"they will find ways of using it. By Suzie | November 26, 2009 4:48 PM What about driving in a foreign country? EG In France, will we be forced to pay for the French motorway as well as for the Dutch road-tax per km? Strange, isn't it? By carlo | November 26, 2009 10:45 PM The easy way to make this really fair is to just get rid of all the car,road tax all together. Change everything over to GAS tax ONLY and then everyone will be paying there fair share, use as you go system.. Sure fuel will be 3 euros a ltr but hey welcome to NL!!!! By DR | November 27, 2009 7:17 AM If you import your car into Holland during your 1st year living here you do not have to pay Luxury Import Tax (BTW) but if you forget, or are unaware of this rule, you have to pay BTW after 1st year here - which is catching out many people - who then decide not to import the car but keep driving it - Illegally without Tax and more Importantly, Insurance. I did know some people working for Netherland's Government who did this - told me it's far cheaper to risk getting caught and pay the €1000 fine. I've even been encouraged to do it but didn't - which has cost me a fortune in alsorts of fines for things I didn't do. By Gerard | November 27, 2009 9:22 AM Place your comments: |
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I wonder what the tax will be for more polluting cars - not everybody drives a tiny car.
Expect more speeding tickets because they will know from GPS exactly how fast you go and in what areas you do it.
Big brother mentality gone too far.
By Chris | November 26, 2009 8:02 AM