Workers who use company bikes to commute to work can end up paying more tax on the perk than they would if they used an electric car, mobility lobby group RAI Vereniging told the Financieele Dagblad on Monday.

The organisation says a shake-up in the rules is needed to reflect the rising popularity of electric bikes – which can travel at speeds of up to 45 kph – to get to work.

However, commuters who use this sort of company bike face many regulations and high costs, the FD said.

A super-fast e-bike costs about €3,500 and that means users face a tax charge of between €120 and €150 a month. This is higher than the tax they would pay on a €40,000 electric car, the RAI said.

Tax break

The organisation wants to simplify the regulations and scrap the additional tax on bikes completely.

A finance ministry spokesman told the paper the additional tax liability need not always be higher for the bicycle and that employers can now offer employees a tax break to buy a bike.

There are now some 9,000 fast electric bikes in the Netherlands, of which only 739 are registered as company-owned.