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Cost increase oldtimer ownership 1200%?

-Council of State gives politics a failing grade

On Prinsjesdag 2013, clarity was provided on the tax plan for 2014. The average old-timer enthusiast will not be happy about this. The old-timer scheme proposed earlier this year has been included in the tax plan in unaltered form. If the Lower and Upper Houses of Parliament approve this proposal, many old-timer owners will be forced to part with their cultural heritage on wheels.

The proposals for old-timers in brief

The "40-year compromise" has been adopted in unchanged form in the 2014 tax plan.
From 2014, owners of vintage cars aged 40 years or older will remain exempt from road tax. However, owners of oldtimers between 26 and 40 years of age will have it pretty tough;

Every last quarter of the year, the tax authorities will approach the holder of an eligible vintage car and ask if he or she wishes to make use of the scheme.

Fuel duty

On Prinsjesdag, it was also announced without any hesitation that excise duty on fuel will also be significantly increased. Apart from the annual inflation correction, the excise on diesel will go up by 3 cents per litre and the excise on LPG by 7 cents per litre. Drivers on 'green' gas will receive a small excise discount for a few years. There is no mention of the fact that the price of a litre of petrol has already risen by no less than 54% between 2002 and 2012.

Cost increase oldtimer owners

Increase in costs for old-timer owners is skyrocketing

According to VWE (Vehicle Information and Documentation), nearly 70% of Dutch vintage cars will be affected by the announced tax measures.

Below is an example calculation comparing the current and new tax regime. As 1 out of 4 old-timers is a Mercedes-Benz, we have also taken a Mercedes in our calculation example.

Motor vehicle tax (MRB).
-Mercedes-Benz 200 (B/D/LPG)
-Passenger car
-Weight 1151 to 1250 kg
-Province of Utrecht

 

MRB 2014 MRB old scheme Increase
BENZINE
Oldtimer 25 years No transitional arrangement* € 556,00 € 0,00 € 556,00
Oldtimer 25 years Transitional regulation € 120,00 € 0,00 € 120,00
Oldtimer 35 years No transitional arrangement € 556,00 € 0,00 € 556,00
Oldtimer 35 years Transitional regulation € 120,00 € 0,00 € 120,00
Oldtimer 40 years Unchanged/Exempt € 0,00 € 0,00 € 0,00

 

MRB 2014 MRB old scheme Increase
DIESEL
Oldtimer 25 years Full rate € 1160,00 € 0,00 € 1160,00
Oldtimer 35 years Full rate € 1160,00 € 0,00 € 1160,00
Oldtimer 40 years Unchanged/Exempt € 0,00 € 0,00 € 0,00

 

MRB 2014 MRB old scheme Increase
LPG
Oldtimer 25 years Full rate € 1232,00 € 0,00 € 1232,00
Oldtimer 35 years Full rate € 1232,00 € 0,00 € 1232,00
Oldtimer 40 years Unchanged/Exempt € 0,00 € 0,00 € 0,00

 

*Transitional scheme: Old-timers which are between 26 and 40 years old on 1 January and drive on petrol are eligible for a quarter rate with a maximum of €120.00. The condition is that no use is made of the public roads in December, January and February. The transitional regime does not apply to vehicles which run on LPG and Diesel.

Council of State gives a big fail

The Council of State considers the old-timer regulation as agreed upon this spring to be unclear, far too complicated and not enforceable. Therefore, the political body also believes that the regulation should be revised. The Council of State finds it hard to verify that gasoline-powered cars aged 26 to 40 years are not allowed to drive for a quarter under the transitional arrangement.
Also the environmental argument regarding old-timers on diesel and LPG is hardly controllable and therefore not feasible. The "40-year compromise" is also inconsistent and contradicts the earlier views of Secretary of State Frans Weekers; in a parliamentary debate he indicated that he had no intention of creating separate rules for specific groups of old-timer owners. However, this is at odds with the current old-timer regulations. The Council of State therefore thinks that the old-timer regulation should be changed.

Exemptionoldtimer.nl
The organization vrijstellingoldtimer.nl has previously successfully campaigned on behalf of oldtimer owners against unjust and unmotivated government policies. Again, the team of Vrijstelling Oldtimer does not accept the 40-year compromise. Legally, they consider the proposal not watertight. In addition, the regulation would not be evaluated until 2015 (the Van Vliet Amendment), so why this has already happened is a big mystery.

What does the Van Vliet Amendment mean?

This provided for the following measures as of 1 January 2012:

  • Exemption age raised from 25 to 30 years
  • Existing cases (year of construction 1986 and older) are 25 years or older on that date and remain fully exempt
  • Transitional arrangement for vehicles with a year of construction from 1987 to 1990.

The exemption age for these construction years will gradually shift from 26 to 29 years between 2012 and 2019.

  • For vehicles with a year of construction of 1987 or later, the exemption applies only to the basic amount and the provincial surcharges (i.e. fuel surcharge for lpg and diesel cars, not for petrol cars)
  • In 2015, a weighing-up will take place on the policy to be pursued with this amendment

ANWB has joined the fray

The ANWB has also joined the fray. The ANWB has added up all the tax increases and concluded that the motorist will generate an extra 1 billion in income next year. This is no small sum, and a large part of it will come from classic car drivers, who will be affected by the tax increases on several fronts.

BOVAG and RAI Association

That the government already earns more than enough from the motorist is evident from the latest edition of Mobility in Figures Cars by the Bovag and Rai Association. The national government generates income from excise duty on fuels, insurance tax on car insurance, motor vehicle tax, traffic fines and VAT on fuel, repairs, maintenance and traffic training. Provinces receive surcharges on motor vehicle taxes.

Municipalities earn from parking fees. Adding this income together comes to a total of almost 20 billion, which is earned by the motorist. That is about 2141 euro per vehicle per year. While the State's expenditure on traffic facilities last year amounted to 5.2 billion euros, including work on the railways.

The final blow to cultural heritage on the move

Apart from the announced disappearance of the exemption from motor vehicle tax for old-timers and the increase in fuel excise duty, the old-timer enthusiast has had to deal with more issues in the past year that have reduced the enjoyment of the hobby. For instance, in January 2013, the government increased the insurance tax from 9.7% to 21%, insurance companies drastically increased the premiums for old-timer insurance and the acceptance standards were tightened as a result of the sharp increase in the number of claims.

To find an insurer with a low oldtimer premium, the desired coverage and favorable policy conditions is becoming increasingly difficult. Not to mention the exclusions; for example, Europeesche no longer accepts oldtimers that are not parked in an enclosed garage, Avro refuses oldtimers on LPG or diesel and Nationale Nederlanden no longer insures oldtimers if there is not a first use car. Furthermore, certain car brands will be excluded from the oldtimer insurance, fewer kilometers per year may be driven with the oldtimer, oldtimers under the age of 25 will no longer be considered oldtimers, and there must be a brand club of the brand of the oldtimer.
You can read more about the changes and consequences for oldtimer enthusiasts here; Oldtimer owners severely duped.

 

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