Earlier this week Belgium’s parliament voted through a bill to lower the sales tax on bicycles – including e-bikes – from 21 to 6%. If approved by the European Commission the new Value-Added Tax (VAT) rate will apply from 1st April.
Belgian politician Laurent Devin has been championing the eco measure for some time. The socialist MP welcomed his bill’s passage: “A direct reduction of 15% is a strong message to promote cycling.”
He added: “The goal is to win more people over to this efficient and environmentally friendly means of transport.”
Ahmed Laaouej, leader of the Socialist Party, the second largest party in the Belgian parliament, agreed, reported HLN:
Traffic jams have an impact on health and climate, not to mention the enormous cost to the economy. The budgetary impact of this measure must be considered as an essential investment to face the challenges of mobility, the environment and health.”
445,000 bicycles were sold in Belgium in 2017, of which 218,000 were e-bikes.
Since 2009, E.U. member states have been able to reduce the VAT on bicycle repairs. Belgium was one of the first states to do so, along with Finland, Greece, Ireland, Luxembourg, Malta, Poland, Slovakia and the Netherlands.
Bicycle organisations since then have been lobbying the European Commission to recommend that member states should reduce VAT rates on sales of new bicycles.
Last year the Commission published a proposal for reforming the EU VAT system, including reducing the sales tax on bicycles – but not e-bikes – to zero.
