Hof der dingen - Bicycle Tax Plate

You read that right – bicycle tax. Now, we hear what you’re thinking? What kind of country asks its citizens to pay a tax for riding their bikes? Well- Belgium, for one – as did France and the Netherlands. Belgium was one of the first countries to introduce the tax (1893), which was collected by the provinces. Alongside the province of Liège (Liège), West Flanders was the first to reinforce the new law that ordered every bicycle owner to pay a yearly tax. 

Back then, owning a bicycle was considered a luxury. No wonder that the tax was so high: 10 Belgian francs – a considerable amount, knowing that blue collars earned about 2 francs per day. These plates served as proof of payment, so you had to renew them every year and put them on your front wheel using a small attachment. They came in many different colours, depending on the year they were made in and the province that distributed them. Nowadays, they’re a collector’s item for lovers of everything vintage and fashionable. 

Ultimately, the bicycle tax was phased out between 1986 and 1991. Not only was the cost to produce the plates almost higher than the actual tax revenue, but throughout the years, bicycles had evolved from a luxury item to a necessity. To stimulate people to ride bikes instead of driving their cars everywhere, authorities decided to eliminate the tax. 

This bicycle tax plate was lent to us by Philip Cottenie. It doesn’t only serve as a reminder of the existence of the bicycle tax, but also of the central role his bike played during his childhood years. 

“For a long time, the bicycle tax plates were an ordinary part of everyday life in Flanders. Each year, their colour or shape might change, but in the end, it was just a small piece of metal that you needed to screw onto the front fork of your bike. It represented so much more, though." 

These plates remind me of my childhood – even more so than the 150 books about the noble sport of cycling in my home library. It takes me back to when I was constantly discovering new places and broadening my horizons as a kid, riding my bike everywhere– just like Streuvels did in the pioneering days of the vélo(cipède). When I raced home from primary school, I imagined myself as a true Flandrien. 

"Each time that you had to renew the bicycle tax plate, you were secretly hoping to be given a new bike as a present as well - preferably in the colours of your local cycling hero of course, which would spark your imagination all over again.”, Philip recounts.