Brussels introduces road charging in 2022
Starting 2022 everybody driving a car in Brussels will have to pay a road charge. The charge will be due when travelling on weekdays during the day between the hours of 7AM and 10PM. It will be calculated on the basis of the number of kilometres you cover, the time of your trip and the power of your vehicle.
Drivers will also be able to purchase a day pass.
The road charge called SmartMove is being introduced by the Brussels Regional Government and forms part of tax reforms in the region. Using the SmartMove app you will be able to register your vehicle. The app will calculate the fee due using camera technology installed to enforce the low emission zone.
Brussels will abolish the annual car tax to compensate for the new charge but inhabitants of the Flemish and Walloon regions won’t enjoy that benefit. Talks with Flanders and Wallonia are planned.
Flemish finance minister Matthias Diependaele (nationalist) has already given the road charge the thumbs down. ‘It’s a tax increase on Flanders and Wallonia, not a mobility measure’ he says.