Bicycle shops have started a campaign to keep the tax break that cyclists get if they have a company bike, the Volkskrant reports on Friday.

At the moment, employers can give their workers a tax-free new bike with a value of up to €749 every three years, but the cabinet is halting the scheme next year.

Instead, company bikes will be included in a new work-related deductible of up to 1.2% of gross salary, but will have to compete with company outings, Christmas hampers and work social events.

200,000 bikes

Bike shops say the change will mean the end of the successful company bike scheme. The RAI road users’ association estimates 200,000 bikes are bought under the scheme every year. ‘We are lobbying hard,’ spokesman Harald Bresser told the Volkskrant.

A finance ministry spokesman told the paper the cabinet is continuing to promote the use of company bikes but that the new system will give employers greater flexibility to decide what to buy for their staff.

One in four workers currently uses a bike to commute.