Legislation regarding the use of hydrogen as a fuel is developing in the Netherlands. In the first quarter of 2022, the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Policy opened a public consultation on the future regulation of the hydrogen market. This public consultation was discussed in more detail in our website post of 25 May 2022.  The results were summarized and published by the Ministry, providing insights into the market dynamics and interests within the hydrogen market.

Update Budget Day 2022

The Ministry has published two letters to the House of Representatives about the progress, organization and development of the hydrogen market and the developments in the transport network in the Netherlands. To bring back fossil fuel dependencies, there is more urgency in developing hydrogen policy. Partly for this reason the Cabinet announced in their Budget Memorandum on Budget Day 2022 that it would reserve € 35 billion for a Climate Fund, with € 4 billion already allocated for urgent projects, including hydrogen projects. The government has also announced its intention to accelerate the sustainability of the company car fleet in order to achieve additional CO2 reduction in 2030. Currently being explored is the introduction of a regulation that requires all new company cars to be emission-free by 2025 or even 2024.

Tax laws and regulations

For now, the tax legislation regarding hydrogen-powered vehicles is straightforward. In this article, we discuss Dutch tax aspects of hydrogen-powered vehicles in the automotive sector. Several interesting tax incentives are currently available for hydrogen-powered, zero emission vehicles. We will discuss amongst other things the Environmental Investment Credit (MIA), addition for the use of company cars for Wage Taxes (bijtelling), Private Motor Vehicle and Motorcycle Tax (BPM) and the motor vehicle tax (MRB).

Investment facilities and subsidies

 

Wage Taxation

 

Automotive Taxes

 

Expectations for tax schemes on hydrogen-powered vehicles

The tax incentives and benefits that are currently in place show the Dutch Government is actively incentivizing investments in hydrogen-powered vehicles. The government recently increases public investments in hydrogen infrastructure as well. As the market for hydrogen-powered cars matures, it is quite possible that these benefits will be phased out. We are seeing this happening for electric passenger cars already, looking at the abolishment of the MIA and VAMIL, the scaling back of reduction of wage tax additions, and uncertainty about the BPM exemption. We are closely monitoring the developments regarding hydrogen in the Automotive sector and will be sure to keep you informed.

If you have any questions about the application of these tax regulations or what this means for your company, please contact one of our advisors.