A Flemish Brabant municipality is fed up with truck drivers filling up at its petrol stations and causing traffic congestion.
Truck drivers leave the E40 in Ternat to refuel in the towns along the roadway because the gas is cheaper. In municipalities like Ternat, where Mayor Michel Vanderhasselt said this situation has been going on for 10 years, the trucks cause traffic congestion when they come to fill up their tanks.
To solve this problem, officials want to propose a tax on motor fuel distribution machinery, according to New Mobility. The tax would only apply to large petrol stations so that passenger vehicles are not affected. On a 1,000 liter tank, the tax could be as high as 100 euro.
Fuel prices can be much cheaper in stations on regional roads because petrol stations on highways charge the maximum price, Johan Mattart, the Managing Director the Belgian Federation of Fuel Traders, said. Highway stations have higher operating costs, and they have less competition.
Forty other Flemish communities have a similar tax, according to the Association of Flemish Cities and Municipalities, though the reasons for the taxes vary. In Lier, for example, the tax is to prevent storing large amounts of fuel in residential areas.
Sam Nelson
The Brussels Times
