Climate Tax aspects of 2021 coalition agreement

On December 15, 2021 the parliamentary parties VVD, D66, CDA and the ChristenUnie presented the coalition agreement ’Looking out for one another and looking to the future’ setting out the new government’s plans and ambitions for their term of office. Numerous changes are in the pipeline for climate and environmental taxes. This article briefly addresses what is currently known about the intended climate tax measures.

Climate and environmental taxes

• The current CO2 tax on industrial emissions will be tightened ‘in the margins’. This will be done via changes to the number of dispensation rights and the rate.
• As of January 1, 2023 a minimum CO2 price for industry will be introduced.
• The energy tax rate structure will be made less degressive by increasing the rates in the higher consumption brackets for gas and electricity.
• The ODE rates (surcharges for sustainable energy) in the second and third electricity brackets will be reduced as of 2023 (compared to the rates in the ODE baseline).
• The energy tax rate for gas in the first bracket will be increased by 5.23 cents/m3 during the period 2023-2028.
• The energy tax rate for electricity in the first bracket will be increased by 5.23 cents/kWh during the period 2023-2028.
• The reduced energy tax rate for greenhouse horticulture companies will be abolished as of January 1, 2025.
• In 2030 an MRB Plus (kilometer charge) will be introduced with a flat kilometer rate for all passenger cars and delivery vans.
• The air passenger tax will be increased as of 2023.
• As of January 1, 2025 the budget for the environmental investment allowance (milieu-investeringsaftrek; MIA) will be permanently increased by EUR 30 million.

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