The planned increase in fuel taxes will not go ahead. The cabinet questioned the proposal that the VVD submitted with the support of a parliamentary majority, especially because of the way in which the liberals want to finance the plan.
But the cabinet “has to deal with motions”, says Finance Minister Sigrid Kaag, provided they are feasible.
The government had temporarily reduced excise duties to ease the pain of high energy prices. That reduction would be reversed on January 1, and fuel prices would rise further because excise duties will grow along with the high prices. The House of Representatives, at the initiative of the VVD, wanted to put a stop to this. But stopping the proposed increase will cost around 1.2 billion euros. The VVD wants to pay for this, among other things, through a selection from the National Growth Fund. This goes against the budget rules, the cabinet emphasized on Friday in a letter in which it was extremely critical of many of the plans from Parliament.
The budget rules are “not laws, but a guideline,” Kaag said in the budget debate. She warned that the budget deficit will increase if the plan is indeed paid for from the growth fund, which is filled with borrowed money.
Lots of criticism
Financial spokesperson Eelco Heinen of the VVD previously received a lot of criticism in that debate for the plan to use an amount from the growth fund to cover the costs at the pump. But he said it was justified “to use some of the money that is now on the shelf and that we are not doing anything with, to provide air for middle incomes again,” and stuck to the intention.
At the insistence of SP member Mahir Alkaya, among others (the Socialists also support the proposal), Kaag indicated that she will implement the plan. She may be obliged to do so if the VVD itself comes up with an adjustment proposal. Then it is laid down in law.