The environmental list for 2024 has been published. And this list has been significantly updated from previous years.
This is due to changed European state aid rules. Business assets will now go off the list faster if they become commonplace or overlap with other incentive schemes. As many as 108 assets have been removed from the environment list and 123 have been modified. Only 6 new assets have been added to the environment list.
RFO mentions on its website the following notable adjustments:
Stricter requirements for transport equipment and tools
- Entrepreneurs no longer get tax breaks for investments in:
- modes of transport with a fossil fuel engine, such as hybrid and ‘dual-fuel’ variants;
- hydrogen-powered implements. There is a ban on possible use of grey hydrogen under new state aid requirements. This cannot be properly controlled. These implements are therefore no longer on the Environmental List.
- electric taxis. The additional cost of these taxis compared to non-electric taxis is too small to continue incentivising with tax breaks.
- Stricter requirements for investment in:
- Electric-powered cargo bikes: entrepreneurs will no longer receive tax breaks for cargo bikes they also use privately.
- charging points: only for charging points for heavy transport will entrepreneurs still get tax breaks, no longer for light transport, such as vans.
Sustainable agriculture
- For stables and greenhouses, the maximum investment amount for tax relief has been increased. This gives more room to financially support agricultural entrepreneurs.
- Low-emission floors in dairy barns no longer have a tax advantage. Recent research shows that these floors do not reduce emissions in practice, compared to traditional slatted floors. Investments in low-emission stall systems in pig and poultry barns still receive tax benefits.
- New to the list: mechanical pest control equipment for agricultural and horticultural crops and equipment for reducing ammonia and methane emissions during the spreading of livestock manure.
Saving raw materials
- To get tax breaks, using biomass as a raw material will no longer be possible in 2024. Entrepreneurs will only get tax breaks for production equipment if the biomass is a waste or by-product.
- New on the list is a tap system for water and soft drinks, aimed at reducing the use of disposable packaging such as bottles and packs.
Reducing nitrogen
- Due to European regulations, a number of business assets receive less tax benefit. There is also no longer a tax break for certain types of nitrogen-reducing boilers, as they run on fossil fuels.
- New on the list are nitrogen-reducing plants for a cremation furnace.
- To further reduce nitrogen emissions from industry, the business tool ‘NOx emission reducing technique’ has been widened (50% instead of 70% less emissions than required by law). The maximum amount for tax relief i increased to €5 million.
Stricter requirements for sustainable buildings
- Entrepreneurs get tax break for sustainable buildings with an industrial function of up to 30,000 m2 gross floor area.
- For circular buildings, the required proportion of demountable building products has been increased to 50%. A minimum energy requirement has also been included to get tax benefits.
- Several business assets for building fittings and building materials have lapsed due to amended European state aid rules.