Attempts to avoid paying tax make people creative. This is also the case in a procedure regarding the parking tax levied by the Municipality of Amsterdam
Charging
It is established that the interested party’s car was parked there and that no parking charge had been paid. However, the interested party’s electric car was charging at that time. Furthermore, the parking space used had been designated by the local authority exclusively for the charging of electric cars. The Court of Appeal does not agree with the interested party’s argument that the local authority is not permitted to attach two conditions to a parking space. The fact that the parking space is designated exclusively for the charging of electric cars therefore does not preclude the levying of parking charges as well.
Loading and unloading
The party concerned is not one to be easily fooled. He claims that he did not park the car, but that he was loading and unloading, as the electric car’s batteries were being charged. However, the Court of Appeal ruled that charging a car does not qualify as immediate loading and unloading. Loading and unloading is an observable physical act in which the driver carries items to and from the car. This is different from plugging the car into a charging point and then leaving it to charge for several hours whilst the driver is absent.