The federal council of ministers has given the green light to a series of tax reforms on energy bills. This includes the introduction of a cliquet system, so that the VAT reduction to 6 percent can be compensated with higher excise duties once energy prices normalize.
The government announced months ago that the VAT on gas and electricity will be reduced to 6 percent. A preliminary draft law by Minister of Finance Vincent Van Peteghem (CD&V) that puts this reform into practice, received the green light from the Council of Ministers on Friday.
At the same time, excise duties are also being reformed. For natural gas, this involves an increase in excise duties of EUR 7.69 per megawatt hour, for electricity there will be an additional EUR 33.88 in excise duties per megawatt hour. Using the cliquet system, the aim is to offset VAT losses through excise duties, as soon as prices normalize. The increase in excise duty will therefore be introduced gradually.
A separate arrangement is provided for customers with a social rate, because they are currently exempt from excise duties.
The draft bill now has to go to the Council of State for advice.
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