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Belgium

Climate change taxation reforms and incentives in Belgium

Table of contents
  1.  Has your country ratified the Paris Agreement? 
  2. Has your country introduced environmental taxes?
    1.  Energy taxes
    2.  Transport Taxes
    3.  Pollution taxes
    4.  Resources taxes
  3.  Has your country introduced a carbon tax?
  4. Does your country offer sustainability incentives (tax credits, subsidies or other business incentives) to encourage taxpayers to engage in behaviours and develop technologies that can impact positively the environment? 
  5.  Has your country recently announced tax reforms connected to climate change? 
  6. Other comments
Belgium

1. Has your country ratified the Paris Agreement? 

Yes

2. Has your country introduced environmental taxes?

2.1 Energy taxes

Federal energy taxes:

  • Contributions levied on energy for the:
    • Denuclearisation fund
    • Fund for reduction of greenhouse gas emissions.

Regional energy taxes:

  • Contribution for green energy (Wallonia)

2.2 Transport Taxes

Company vehicles tax: based on CO2 emission.

2.3 Pollution taxes

  • Water pollution tax: water from households, industry and agriculture.
  • Tax on individual and single-use packaged drinks (per hectolitre).
  • Tax on batteries.
  • Tax on packaging of certain professionally-used inks, adhesives and solvents.
  • Tax on disposable cameras.
  • Tax on the export of waste by operators of waste disposal facilities.
  • Regional (Wallonia) tax on non-household waste.
  • Regional (Flanders) tax on liquid manure.

2.4 Resources taxes

  • Water agency fees for private individuals.
  • Fee on ground water for consumers using more than 500m3 per year.
  • Fee on ground water or surface water exploited with the intention of consumption and distribution.
  • Excise duties on gasoline, diesel, gas

3. Has your country introduced a carbon tax?

No

4. Does your country offer sustainability incentives (tax credits, subsidies or other business incentives) to encourage taxpayers to engage in behaviours and develop technologies that can impact positively the environment? 

In general:

  • Federal: Higher rate of investment deduction for energy saving investments: investment deduction can be offset against taxable profits.
  • Regional: Flanders – Discount on property tax for renovations to reduce energy usage level of homes or enterprises (E-level).
  • Subsidy for installing a heat pump, heat pump boiler solar water heater (flat rates).
  • Regional : vehicle inscription tax is based on CO2 emission of the vehicle.
  • Exemption of vehicle inscription tax on purely electrical and hydrogen vehicles (not for leased vehicles).
  • Temporary exemption of vehicle inscription tax on plug-in hybrids and CNG-LNG (not for leased vehicles).

Specifically for natural persons:

  • Federal: lower VAT rate (6% instead of 21%) for the isolation of homes older than 10 years.
  • Federal: flat rate subsidy for low-emission homes, passive homes and zero-energy homes.
  • Regional and local: Tax incentives on isolation of homes: subsidy per square meter (roof/walls/cellar) .
  • Regional: Wallonia – tax credit: 30% of amount spent on isolation of roofs (capped at EUR 3,260 per home).
  • Regional: Flanders – discount on property tax for new homes with reduced energy usage level (E-level).
  • Regional: Flanders – discount on registration fees or donation taxes for homes renovated to reduce energy usage level within five years of acquisition.
  • Regional: Flanders – subsidy for natural persons on the purchase or leasing of a home battery system (for the storage of self-produced green energy).   

Enterprises:

  • Green power certificate: subsidy for green energy produced.
  • Combined heat and power (heat engine) subsidy for production of CHP energy.
  • Subsidies for innovative enterprises who invest in ecological or energy saving technology.
  • Subsidies for sewerage companies to reduce spillage.

5. Has your country recently announced tax reforms connected to climate change? 

Yes, the Flanders region announced a tax increase on the registration of vehicles based on CO2 emission of the vehicle.

6. Other comments

N/A

Authors

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Portrait ofOlivier Querinjean
Olivier Querinjean
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