At the beginning of the week, the Walloon Minister for Mobility, Philippe Henry (Ecolo), released his draft reform of car taxation in Wallonia. Little supported by his majority partners (PS and MR), the minister recognized in Parliament that the text, which was the subject of an agreement, is bound to evolve. According to the opinions that the government has requested from a series of actors (Febiac, Traxio, Union of Cities and Municipalities, etc.). But perhaps also depending on other opinions that he did not necessarily ask for.
Thus the Walloon Union of Enterprises (UWE) considers that the proposed reform completely misses the real stakes. “We will not return to the technical issues related to this reform. Febiac and Traxio are members of the UWE and they have already spoken on this subject. We share their analysis”explains Samüel Saelens, director of the skills center at UWE, responsible in particular for questions of mobility and transport.
For the UWE, “this reform will have no impact on mobility itself. A small car, even if it takes up a little less space than a large one, contributes just as much to traffic congestion. This is a missed opportunity to collaborate with the other two Regions of the country on a smart kilometer charge project. Wallonia is content to reform an archaic taxation system.”
The timing imposed by Europe
Samüel Saelens recalls above all that the European Union “Asks the Member States to work on a smart kilometer charge for 2026. Flanders and Brussels are making good progress on their own projects and Wallonia will find itself very much alone when it has to do the same”.
For our interlocutor, when it came to agreeing on the intelligent kilometer charge for the transport of goods, “the three Regions succeeded quite easily”.
According to him, moreover, the existing infrastructure for this truck tax mechanism (the gantries installed on the motorways and on the national roads) can very well be adapted to a levy for cars. “It is time to seriously think about a global solution for the whole country, taking into account the specificities of the regions. The reality of a resident of Ciney is not the same as that of a Brussels resident.”
According to the UWE, the Walloon government undoubtedly fears significant electoral repercussions, if it were to follow this logic of intelligent kilometric charging adapted to the realities of road users.
“I think there is a fear at government level of coming up with an electorally destructive reform bill when we believe that is the only solution. A smart kilometer charge must replace our current system within three years. take the time to think about it and define a solid technical and legal model. Otherwise, I fear that Wallonia will see a mechanism imposed on it that it did not choose. By taking the time to put this new system in place, the people could reflect and anticipate their mobility in a more serene way.”
Ten years that UWE has been waiting
The UWE recalls that it has been asking the Walloon government for ten years “to think about this system. It was very closed at the beginning on this question, but for some time we have been hearing elected officials who are on our side. When the three Regions agreed on the kilometer charge for heavy goods vehicles, it did not did not bother them to multiply by eight the income related to this taxation. Here, we are talking about budgetary neutrality, etc. “concludes Samüel Saelens.