Michaël Reul, the director of the Professional Union of Transport (UPTR), was the guest of the morning of Bel RTL. At the microphone of Antonio Solimando, he criticized the increase in the kilometer charge for heavy goods vehicles in Wallonia.
The increase in the kilometric tax will be 15% from July 1. “The drivers are furious”launches Michaël Reul. “This 15% is already added to the indexation of January 1. The timing is very bad: July 1 will put many of our SMEs in difficulty, because in many companies there are annual contracts, so we will have to renegotiate rates during the year, rates which have already increased by 25% over the past two years, because of the indexation of wages, the increase in the price of fuel, truck parts, insurance and therefore this will put companies in difficulty with this question: Why? The SOFICO fund (Walloon complementary infrastructure financing company) is full, the work that should take place is postponed, is moved. We agree in the common interest to pay taxes but there has to be a utility. If it’s just to make SOFICO an investment bank, we don’t understand this decision”.
This kilometer charge is used, as a reminder, to carry out maintenance work on the road network to, for example, repair potholes. SOFICO, for its part, argues that the cost of construction sites has increased and that wages have been indexed.
To which the director of the UPTR replies that “tariffs have already been indexed by 10% and you haven’t heard us go up to the barricades. 70% of SOFICO’s revenue comes from the world of road transport. We are clearly a cash cow”.
