The industry body instead calls for a broad-based, pay-per-kilometre method to cover rising fuel prices
Automotive industry body the Federal Chamber for Automotive Industries (FCAI) says now is the ideal time for Australian politicians to replace the current fuel excise system with a broad-based road-user charge scheme.
The FCAI describes the current fuel excise system as “ineffective and antiquated taxes on Australian motorists”, instead calling for a pay-per-kilometre method that covers for soaring fuel prices.
The body implores Australian politicians to examine the merits of the road user charge scheme, which it believes could become a progressive step in national tax reform.
“Since the release of the FCAI’s discussion paper on road user charging, some state governments have announced plans to introduce a road user charge for the owners of electric vehicles as part of their zero emission strategies,” FCAI chief executive Tony Weber says.
“Our view is that governments can take this further and apply a road user charge to all vehicles regardless of their engine type.
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The FCAI are hoping to bring in a new system to replace the current fuel excise
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The FCAI reiterates that a road user charge “is not an additional tax on motorists”.
Instead, it can replace registration charges, fuel excise license fees and luxury car taxes, presenting an opportunity to reduce large bureaucracies required to administer these taxes that the body describes as “inefficient”.
“State and territory governments are beginning to adapt to the changing nature of mobility in Australia, including the rise of electric vehicles that do not pay fuel excise. Applying road-user charges more broadly and scrapping taxes like fuel excise and the luxury car tax will ensure that all motorists are paying an equitable amount to use Australia’s road network,” Weber says.
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The discussion paper released by the FCAI outlines pathways available to governments for taxation reform, particularly considering equity when it comes to rural and regional travel.
“We need this reform to move Australia’s road tax system from last century and ready it for the future of motoring,” Weber says.
“Australians want a future that can provide clarity, simplicity, fairness and value to their wallet. There is no better time than now to bring this future into reality.”