The Brussels Region should be encouraging the installation of charging stations rather than taxing them.
Brussels, 12 July 2024 - On Wednesday, the conference of mayors of the Brussels municipalities agreed on a uniform tax on public electric charging stations. BECI condemns the principle of this tax and calls on David Leisterh to take action on the matter.
By the end of 2023, no fewer than 1,900 charging points had been installed on public roads in the Brussels-Capital Region. The roll-out of electric charging stations, led by Electrify.brussels, is set to grow even further between now and 2035, to reach a total of 22,000 publicly accessible charging stations in Brussels.
On Wednesday, the Conference of Brussels Mayors, chaired by Vincent De Wolf, Mayor of Etterbeek, met to discuss, among other things, a proposal to introduce a uniform tax on public electric charging stations from 2025. The press reports that an ‘agreement in principle’ has been reached on a charge of €125 per plug.
BECI condemns this counter-productive measure against electric charging stations on public roads, in a context of necessary transition in the face of climate change. These charging points are essential if we are to meet Europe's 2050 carbon neutrality targets.
We would like to point out that Brussels is struggling to roll out the number of charging stations required for this transition. On the other hand, the Brussels Region intends to quickly ban the sale of combustion-powered vehicles, while everyone is finding it difficult to switch to electric vehicles.
A better use of public space must be implemented, as long as it is done in an orderly and methodical manner. BECI calls on David Leisterh to tackle this issue with good governance and a sense of proportion.