Victoria’s proposed new road charge for electric vehicles has been criticized by auto lobbies, as well as Green and Liberal MPs.

Victoria Road User Charge for “green” vehicles is to come into force from July and amounts to 2 cents per kilometer driven for plug-in hybrids and 2.5 cents per kilometer for electric vehicles (EVs).

The Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries (FCAI) denounced the new tax today in response.

“At present, governments should encourage the adoption of these technologies with positive policy initiatives, especially with regard to emissions targets, infrastructure development and appropriate incentives for fleets and private consumers rather. than to introduce fees that potentially reduce the incentive for these customers to purchase these vehicles. Said FCAI chief Tony Weber.

“Advanced economies around the world are finding ways to encourage and encourage the introduction of these vehicles rather than introduce fees that hinder their market growth.”

The bill is not guaranteed, as Labor does not hold a majority in the upper house, with 11 of 12 interbank MPs vowing to vote against the bill, according to Age – to be adopted, the bill needs the support of three crossed deputies.

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Introduced today in the Victorian Legislature, the “Zero Emissions, Low Emissions Vehicle Charges Bill 2021” is facing opposition from both Liberal and Green MPs.

Fresh out of a leadership spill, Victorian Opposition Leader Michael O’Brien criticized the proposed tax.

“This government talks a lot about the environment and climate change. When things happen, they prefer a new tax rather than encouraging people to adopt low-emission vehicles,” he said.

Victorian Greens Transport spokesman Sam Hibbins also called it a “clean air tax.”

“It is outrageous that Labor wants to be the only government in the world to make electric vehicles more expensive,” he said.

“We are in a climate crisis and transportation is the fastest growing source of greenhouse gas emissions in Victoria. We should help people switch to electric vehicles by making them more affordable instead of putting up roadblocks. “

Electric Vehicle Council chief Behyad Jafari said the Victorian parliament should reject the legislation.

“You don’t have to be a great economist to know that if you put a big new tax on something, you discourage its use … if you collect less tax on cigarettes, you don’t respond by knocking. a big new tax on nicotine gum, ”he said.

However, Victorian Treasurer Tim Pallas called it “a fair and sustainable charge for the use and wear and tear of our road network, which means safer roads”.

The case of road tax

One of the main arguments in favor of the road tax is that it compensates for the loss of excise duties on fuel, the revenue of which is have fallen it doesn’t matter over the past ten years.

The fuel excise tax, levied on every liter of fuel and used to improve roads, currently stands at 42.7 cents per liter and is generally indexed to inflation every six months.

This means that Australia’s most popular car, the Toyota HiLux, consuming 7.7 L per 100 km combined, would face just over $ 493 of fuel excise per year over 15,000 km.

While an electric vehicle does not consume fuel, driving 15,000 km per year would cost $ 375 in road tax.

Hybrid vehicles, although charged 0.5 cents less than electric vehicles, also pay excise taxes on fuel, although they are generally more efficient than traditional combustion engines.

The road tax has found support among certain groups of motorists.

“The technological changes we are seeing in the automotive market are good for consumers and the environment, but they will also significantly undermine the federal budget and its reliance on fuel excise revenues to fund projects. transport, ”said Nicholas Platt, Chief Engineer of RACV. noted.

FCAI chief Tony Weber also said there needs to be a broader discussion of vehicle tax policy.

“An effective road user pricing framework coupled with comprehensive tax reform has the potential to benefit governments and motorists and is an issue that must be addressed for the future,” he said.

“There is no doubt that governments need to consider future sources of revenue to ensure continued investment in road and transport infrastructure.

“The automotive industry is keen to be part of these discussions to support positive results driven by efficiency and effectiveness for all stakeholders. However, at current volumes, the funds raised through this bill will be minimal. “

Electric vehicle adoption in Australia in 2020 lagging behind global averages, up only 2.7%, against 4% worldwide.

Countries with more aggressive fuel and electric vehicle targets saw a larger increase in adoption, such as Germany (+ 260%) and France (+ 202%).

Opposition Leader Michael O’Brien is returning to this today. Slamming the government’s planned tax on electric vehicles and calling for the return of international flights. #springst #auspol pic.twitter.com/hjaTSc6bGG

– Shannon Deery (@s_deery) March 16, 2021

Photo by Ernest Ojeh on Unsplash