On the table: an improved mobility budget!

Government De Croo announced that all new company cars need to be carbon neutral by 2026 🚗🌱 and that the mobility budget would be improved 💰📈. Finance minister Vincent Van Peteghem now made a proposal with the details and first steps towards this goal.

Here is a summary of what has been put on the table, based on the first echoes and the proposal tabled last year by Jef Van den Berghe, one of the founding fathers of the mobility budget.

Improvements for the federal mobility budget 🛴🚙

• Increase of the allowed CO2 emissions of company cars under pillar 1 to 120g/km.  The current regulation requires a CO2 emission of max 95g/km. But, as of September 2021, the norm for CO2 emission will be based on the WLTP standard. This standard is stricter than the NEDC in terms of CO2 emissions. That’s why the government proposes to increase the maximum.
  
  🎉  This is good news! It would offer more options to employees to buy a smaller eco-friendly car under Pillar 1 of the mobility budget. Eligible cars then would include popular cars such as Skoda Fabia, Volkswagen Polo, Volkswagen Golf, Seat Ibiza, Ford Fiesta, ...
  
• Also on the table: the abolition of waiting periods. The 36-month waiting period for the employer and the 12-month waiting period for the employee are real obstacles to the massive adoption of the mobility budget. Removing them will reshuffle the deck and give the system a real boost!
  
• Mbrella, in the list of 10 recommendations on the Mobility Budget, had proposed expanding the possibilities in pillar 2, such as allowing the financing of public transport passes for family members of the beneficiary or giving more possibilities to bicycle users. This was included in the proposal of deputy Jef Van den Berghe and could soon be introduced.
  
• There should also be changes in the reimbursement of housing costs. The geographical criterion that requires the employee to live within 5km of his or her place of work could be broadened, and the conditions for financing a mortgage with the pillar could be facilitated. This will delight many!

Fiscal incentives towards electrification of the company car💶

• Gasoline, diesel, or hybrid company cars bought as of 2023, would have a gradually decreasing tax benefit to end on a zero benefit in 2028.
• Gasoline, diesel, or hybrid company cars bought as of 2026, would no longer be fiscally deductible at all.
• As of 2026, only carbon-neutral company cars, like electric vehicles, would have the financial advantage to be 100% deductible.
• Investments in charging points would benefit a 45% tax reduction. This should enable electrification.

With this, the minister has taken the first steps to put into practice the firm ambition of the government towards carbon-neutral corporate mobility. And the mobility budget will be the best ally.

Please note that this is still a project of law. It needs to be approved by the government and then by parliament before it can be implemented. But we can be sure that this will happen soon!