The figures are confronting. On January 1, a liter of diesel (excl. VAT) cost an average of 1.63 euros. This has now risen to 2.04 euros due to ongoing unrest in the Middle East. For an average self-employed person (16,140 km/year, consumption 1 in 12), this means an additional burden of 551 euros per year. A small business owner with, for example, three or four buses is therefore quickly spending several thousand euros more.
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The tipping point has disappeared
The historical advantage of diesel over petrol has completely vanished. Normally, the lower price per liter of diesel, combined with lower fuel consumption, offsets the higher road tax (mrb). However, now that diesel has become more expensive per liter than petrol, the tipping point has shifted to tens of thousands of kilometers per year - a distance that is not realistic even for many professionals.
According to Sem Smeenk, founder of Regeljelease.nl, entrepreneurs are being squeezed from both sides. 'Entrepreneurs pay top dollar for fuel ├®n the highest road tax, while there is often still no realistic electric alternative for heavy vans with trailers.'┬áResearch from┬áRegeljelease.nl┬ábased on RDW figures showed last week that over 91 percent of all commercial vans still run on diesel.
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Consumer pays the bill
According to Smeenk, fuel prices are directly driving inflation: 'The entrepreneur has no choice but to pass the bill on to the consumer. From the delivery person to the plumber, everyone is forced to raise their prices to stay afloat.'
The Netherlands ranks among the European top in terms of fuel taxes, prompting Regeljelease.nl to call on the government to lower excise duties to a level that is competitive with our neighboring countries in the upcoming Spring Memorandum. Smeenk emphasizes that the cabinet must prevent the local economy from faltering due to unaffordable mobility: 'The bill for international unrest must not fall entirely on the entrepreneur and the citizen. An intervention is needed to keep the engine of our economy running.'
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