An analysis of energy taxes in light of electrification of transport

With the rise of environmental awareness, electric vehicles lie at the cornerstone of European and national energy policies. This paper analyses the implications on energy taxation resulting from electrification of the transport system. It departs from the observation that in the context of transport electrification, fuel and electricity play a similar role. Yet, shifting from fuel consumption to electricity consumption is not trivial with regard to taxation, as taxes on fuel and taxes on electricity fulfil different functions and ally to different concerns, which have shaped their design and evolution. As such, current tax frameworks appear to be poorly suited to the scale-up of electric vehicles, arguing that transport electrification may require the adoption of well-tailored tax instruments, such as a per- kilometre tax. This contribution provides an analysis of the national framework in Belgium and of the EU framework on energy taxation to illustrate this assertion.