VATupdate Newsletter Week 07 2023

Bike carriers

This week, the EU Parliament voted on a motion on cycling, a sport I personally like a lot. The motion was not (just) about the sport, though, but about cycling in general. And, as often is the case with EU Parliament motions, this one was also funny to read.

Resolution on developing an EU cycling strategy: HERE

Besides the fact that I learned that one of the EU Parliament members regularly goes by bike from Strasbourg to Bulgaria, the Parliament also discussed that cycling should not only be seen as a sport and recreational activity, but also as a real means of transport with an individual policy and special funding. “The bicycle is a means of transport that presents many advantages in terms of health, reducing road congestion and therefore pollution, there are economic advantages when we talk about the purchasing power of European citizens.”

It goes on like this. But the gist of the story is, that the EU parliament (or at least this member) is of the opinion that cycling if good for your health, the environment, and the economy, and therefore, as this motion suggests, it must be (further) encouraged.

Which is not a bad conclusion, I think. And way better that some Motions that have be discussed in the EU Parliament before. The same EU parliament has published motions on various other topics, which were way less relevant. Although they were very funny as well.

For example about the finding that shoes washed-up on the shores in the north and the south of Europe, and statistics showed that the North had more left shoes, and the south more right shoes (or the other way around, I can’t remember). An EU parliament member put-up a motion to set-up an exchange program to find matching pairs of shoes.

It’s those types of articles that make me glow a little from the inside. From laughter, perhaps a bit of shame, angry even? I do not know, but it’s one of the reasons why it’s fun to follow the latest news and developments. To come across those hidden gems in the news that occurs all around you every day.

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Oh, and the relevance of the EU parliament motion on cycling for you and me? The motion also calls on EU Member States to reduce the VAT rates for the supply, rental and repair of bikes and e-bikes. Which proves again: VAT is all around you!

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