The inflation rate in the Netherlands is now the second highest in the whole eurozone, the highest level it has been at for a decade, the Central Bureau of Statistics reports.

Well above average

With an inflation rate of 3,2 percent during February of 2013, the Netherlands finds itself below only Estonia in the whole of the eurozone, and well above the average rate of 1,8 percent.

The European Central Bank has set a target of 2 percent inflation for countries within the economic union, however if inflation in the Netherlands is averaged out over the past decade the rate lies at 1,8 percent.

Increases in taxation

The CBS states that recent hikes in taxation are the main cause of this unusually high rate of inflation.

As well as a rise in the VAT rate, there has been an increase in insurance tax, energy tax and the excise duty on petrol and tobacco products has also been raised.

The last time there was a significant increase in the VAT rate was in 2001 when inflation rose to an even higher level than at present, reaching above five percent.

Without the raise in product-related taxes it has been calculated that the inflation rate would lie at 1,7 percent, below the eurozone average.