Wallonia: new car taxation scheme finally approved

After a large consulting round, the Walloon government has approved an upgraded and comprehensively altered version of the Walloon car taxation scheme. The most important change is that the scheme only applies to the registration tax, not the yearly road tax. The new system will be introduced in July 2025.

“This tax reform aims to encourage Walloon citizens to buy new or second-hand cars that are lighter and less powerful and thus emit less CO2. Transport (persons and freight) represents 22% of the greenhouse gases emissions, and the Walloon government has pledged to lower these by 55% in 2030,” declared Minister Philippe Henry (Ecolo), responsible for Mobility and Infrastructure.

The registration tax (TMC in Wallonia) will thus vary according to the influence of the vehicle on the infrastructure (damage to the roads, occupied space,…), on the environment (health and climate), and on the accident risk (heavier and more powerful vehicles are often involved in more serious accidents).

Consultation round

Because of the hefty criticism from different organizations at the first presentation of the new tax scheme in June last year, a comprehensive consultation round was organized with representatives of Febiac, Traxio, governmental services, representatives of the Family League, and others.

“In the end, we see that the new version is less complicated but keeps the central aim to encourage the purchase of lighter and less polluting cars,” said Philippe Henry. “Our message is clear: via this new TMC, we want to favorably influence the future constellation of our car park.”

TMC calculation

For ICE vehicles, everything stays the same as in the first proposition: TMC = power x CO2 x maximum admitted weight x fuel coefficient. For electric vehicles, the coefficient has been altered: it is now 0,09 for cars with 120 Kw or less power, 0,18 for vehicles with power between 120 and 159 kW, and 0,26 for cars with more than 160 kW of power. Plug-in hybrids have a fuel coefficient of 0,80, whereas an ICE car has a 1,0 coefficient.

There will be tax cuts for big families and a degressive tax for second-hand vehicles: a 10% reduction every year for the first five years, and a 5% reduction every year between the sixth and the fifteenth year. The new TMW will be a minimum of € 50 and a maximum of € 9 000.

The Walloon government has voted on the new proposal and sent it to the State Council for final approval. It is supposed to start functioning in July 2025. Here you can see some examples the Minister gave at its public and press meeting.