The amount of environmental taxes imposed in Belgium had gone down since the pandemic, the Federal Planning Bureau reported on Friday.
The government body announced the share of environmental taxes has dropped by 8% since 2019, having previously risen by 55% in the prior decade.
In total, environmental taxes now represent 5.8% of all taxes levied in the country throughout 2021. Of these, 45% were paid for by households, 51% by businesses, and 3% by citizens and companies residing outside of Belgium.
These figures may disappoint Belgians, with businesses only paying 6% more in environmental taxes than citizens. According to a recent survey by YouGov, four in five of the country’s residents want to force companies to implement concrete policies to mitigate their climate impact.
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The Federal Planning Bureau also detailed where taxpayers’ money was going, with an average of 68% spent on energy taxes, 27% on transport taxes and 5% on paying penalties for pollution.
Transport taxes levied for the good of the environment had decreased between 2019 and 2021, in contradiction to the criticism against the Brussels government for its smart kilometre tax – which imposed a tax on the number of kilometres driven in the capital.
