Belgian government wants a discount on petrol and diesel

Rising energy prices

Thanks to the war in Ukraine, the prices of gas, electricity, petrol and diesel are rising worldwide. Every government handles this differently. For example, the Dutch government is quick to come up with concrete plans for extra compensation due to the rapidly rising energy prices, but they are staying away from fuel prices. That while nowhere in Europe a liter of petrol is more expensive than in the Netherlands.

Dutch petrol price

According to Minister Kaag of Finance, the government’s housekeeping book will run into problems due to a reduction in excise duty. Even if it is a temporary reduction. According to Kaag , for example, there would be too little money left over for education. Dutch motorists will therefore experience a lot of pain at the pump in the coming period. A petrol price of  € 2.50 or more has not been ruled out for a long time.

Excise duty reduction

In Belgium, the government does accommodate motorists. The government of our southern neighbors is considering a significant tax cut, which will lower the price for a liter of petrol or diesel by 20 to 40 euro cents. At the time of writing, the Belgian suggested retail price is € 2.023, which means that the petrol price would go towards € 1.70 or lower. In the Netherlands, the recommended retail price for petrol is now 2.48 euros.

According to Finance Minister Vincent Van Peteghem , everything is ready to introduce the mechanism “extremely quickly”. “The sooner the better, because for many families this has a major impact on their budget,” says Van Peteghem. In addition to the excise duty reduction on fuels, there will most likely also be a VAT reduction for gas in Belgium.

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