Tax arrangements for business mobility are unnecessarily complex and lack any logic. They do not sufficiently encourage sustainable travel, which means that the climate goals cannot be achieved. Private riders are the bobbin. This has emerged from research by VakWereld to the developments and trends in business mobility. About 1.000 employees and managers of Dutch companies and organizations were questioned for this.

“If you take a good look outside, there is a good chance that we will revert to our old habits after this pandemic: every day head-to-tail in the car in a traffic jam. But the corona crisis can also cause a turnaround ”, says Henk Schmidt, lead investigator of the study

Climate goals out of the picture 

The research by VakWereld, publisher of MobilityWereld and ThuiswerkWereld, among others, shows “that it is impossible to achieve the climate goals”, says Henk Schmidt. Nearly 1.000 Dutch employees and managers completed the extensive list of 35 questions. Combined with figures from, among others, Statistics Netherlands, it produced a disconcerting picture. “The report that the publisher is publishing today explains how we can do something about this, because it is not too late,” says Schmidt.

Only a quarter focuses on CO2 footprint

Only slightly more than a quarter of the organizations (26%) where the respondents work, focus on CO2 footprint. In 2022, regulations will be introduced to reduce CO2 in business travel and commuting to organizations with 100 or more employees. Only 9% of organizations reward them for sustainable travel behavior

It doesn't matter to a third

The total commuting costs amount to around € 13 billion per year? And we are not yet talking about the administration. Despite the high costs of mobility, 35% of the respondents have no opinion about the travel costs scheme. Schmidt: "Apparently they all don't really care, or at least they don't bother to learn about it." Of those who do agree, half is satisfied and the other half thinks the schemes are outdated. The main reason for this distribution may lie in the complexity and lack of any logic in the tax regulations. That complexity has not improved since the mandatory popularity of working from home. Home work allowances, so not traveling, are even taxed. 

Private rider is the bobbin

The research also shows that the employee who uses his own car to go to work or to appointments for work is screwed up. This private driver only receives 19 cents for every business kilometer driven. A (tax-free) compensation that, it feels, has been in effect since time immemorial. Whether the costs for driving have become more expensive or cheaper, that 19 cents will remain unchanged regardless of whether or not you drive sustainably.

Task for the government

The report of Trade World makes it clear that there is a task for the government to improve and simplify the tax system. In addition, there are many opportunities for Dutch organizations to reduce costs, make better use of tax options and achieve the climate objectives. The report helps the reader to make choices in the complex matter of regulations, the many providers and control of mobility costs.

Also read: Mobility center: matching supply and demand