From 2030, motorists will pay motor vehicle tax based on the number of kilometers they drive.

The coalition agreement of the Rutte IV cabinet states that the current motor vehicle tax will be converted from a tax based on ownership to a tax based on use. This week, State Secretary Marnix van Rij and Minister of Infrastructure and Water Management Mark Harbers gave insight into the study into the three solutions for kilometer registration Paying to Use (BnG).

This includes building on existing measurement systems and registration, possibly with additional registration moments or a device in the car that registers the mileage of the car without GPS (device is connected to odometer reading and stores data separately). The last option considered was a variant of a device in the car that independently measures, records and communicates the number of kilometers driven on the basis of GPS.

recommendation

The research consortium recommends conducting follow-up research to further elaborate various possible measures under the first-mentioned solution direction and to develop a more detailed picture of the potential fraud behavior per risk group, so that within this solution direction a targeted set of measures in the field of control, supervision and enforcement occurs. The Cabinet has decided to have this follow-up study carried out at the beginning of 2023, on the basis of which decisions will be made about a main solution direction for the registration of the number of kilometers driven within BnG. The House will be informed about this later this spring.

research

At the request of the Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management (IenW) and the Ministry of Finance, Motivaction BV has research conducted among citizens for the pay-as-you-go (BNG) project. In the first outline letter it was stated that close involvement of citizens is given special attention in the preparations for BnG. Motivaction has been commissioned by the Ministries of Finance and Infrastructure and Water Management to conduct research into the attitudes and preferences of citizens towards BnG.

The initial reaction of the Dutch is positive: Paying according to use seems more logical and therefore fairer because the user pays. Further consideration raises strong doubts about the fairness and effectiveness of pay-as-you-go. These doubts seem to be related to sentiments about mistrust of the government and growing inequality.

Automatic registration is the least suitable for a government that trusts citizens

The initial response to GHG is positive, both in the qualitative and quantitative part. Quantitatively, half (50%) of the Dutch are positive about BNG. This attitude deteriorates when they receive more information about the plans during the research and have been given the opportunity to think about it. This is evident from both the responses during focus groups and the online survey. There is a significant difference between the average assessment at the beginning and that at the end of the questionnaire.

"At first glance, this seems fairer to me because you pay for how much you actually drive. That sounds very logical to me."

Respondents find the principle that the user pays more logical and fair than the current situation. Someone who hardly drives has to pay less. The spontaneous response is therefore reasonably positive. Although the initial reaction was positive, the idea of ​​BNG subsequently raised many questions, particularly about the costs for citizens and feasibility. Participants find the background and regulations surrounding BNG, such as what this will look like in practice and what the rules would be, very complicated and people therefore find it difficult to actually understand the content. 

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