High fuel taxes could be cut

The government wants to reverse the increase of excise on fuel, according to NOS, based on The Hague sources. In addition to a multitude of complaints, the measure costs the treasury money, instead of adding to it. Among the organizations that complain about the effects of the increased excise per January 1st,

are the Bovag and Transport and Logistics Netherlands, who claim consumers and transporters fill up across the border to evade the high excise. Earlier the government announced to evaluate the results of the new excise measure before the Summer. However, as a result of the overwhelming number of complaints State Secretary Wiebes was asked to review the information he has so far. 'The numbers are not looking good, but the question remains what causes this,' said Wiebes, who thinks some statistics are more credible than others. 'We fear something else will take the place of the excise increase, which still will not help the consumer or the transporter,' said a Bovag spokesperson, who thinks it wise to reverse the increased excise. That fear may prove all too real, since the government is reportedly considering replacing the excise with a different kind of load increase. A swift decision is expected. A different load increase is not necessary either, according to Bovag, since reversing the excise increase will result in more people filling up in the Netherlands again, which will generate the desired revenue.