Transport & Logistics Netherlands (TLN) has responded angrily to a letter from Minister Cora van Nieuwenhuizen confirming that the HGV levy will be postponed by at least three years.
Transport and Logistics Netherlands says introducing the truck levy as late as 2027 will create a gap of 750 million euros in the state budget and make it more difficult for the country to meet its green targets.
TLN chairman Elisabeth Post described the decision as “a hammer blow” for climate targets and admitted to being surprised by the move, which she said “came out of nowhere.” Post added:
“The return of the revenues from the truck levy is the foundation of our sustainability transition. This was also underlined by many political parties in the run-up to the elections. But that foundation is now crossed out with one stroke of the pen.”
According to the TLN, the delay in the HGV delay represents a “sledgehammer for the sustainability transition of the transport and logistics sector.”
As the organisation explains, revenues from the truck levy, which equate to about 250 million euros per year, were to be used to help the sector switch to more sustainable trucks. Now that the implementation is to be postponed for at least three years, the sector is missing out at least 750 million euros,” says TLN.
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