Brussels looking for people to test its new app to calculate smart kilometre tax

The government of Brussels is looking for several hundred people who are willing to test out its SmartMove mobile application, for the calculation of a future ‘smart’ kilometre tax.

L’Echo confirmed having received the information from the office of Brussels Finance Minister Sven Gatz, to test out the plan to move away from taxation on vehicle ownership and move to taxation on how mentioned vehicle is used.

The test seeks to finalise and evaluate the opinions of commuters from Brussels, Wallonia and Flanders, who will receive a virtual budget to be consumed as the journeys and means of transport are used.

After this, an evaluation will take place at the end of September, with a larger scale test expected to follow in 2023.

Brussels’s kilometre tax initiative had a hard time getting off its feet, as the other regional authorities gave it a cold reception.

However, it was passed by the Council of State, now known as the SmartMove project, at the end of 2021 and the Region of Brussels was deemed as the competent authority on its implementation.

Importantly, the project still requires a cooperation agreement with the Flemish and Walloon regions, which has not yet been concluded.