Thread: Fuel efficient cars may damage our road maintenance?

Sounds like the government getting ready to tax us for something else. Hopefully not a tyre tax or everyone here is @#$%!

You really dont think the govt will let that go on for long - they have to be a bit devious to fix it as if they are seen as putting extra taxes on electric cars and green steam it may keep us buying dino fuel.

The solution will not be simple but I am sure they will come up with a way to get the money.

Hi,
I would hope that a system could be devised so that vehicles do not incur costs when not being used on the roads.
The present annual 'renting permission ' of registration is simply now just an innapropriate and obsolete system.
Cheers

The problem with that article is that although it implies funds for roads are tied to fuel excise, there is in fact, no such linkage. There was originally, but there has not been for many years. Excise goes into consolidated revenue, and Federal road funding comes out of consolidated revenue.

The idea that they are linked is kept alive by the availability of relief from the excise for some offroad use (but not, for example for recreational boating, home small engine use, such as mowers etc - I don't think for any offroad petrol use).

And most road funding comes from state and local government, who are not allocated any of the excise - they get Federal money for roads, but this is tied to specific projects, not excise receipts.

Maybe they'll go the NZ system of a road tax, for distance traveled with kilometer counters on the rims. You only pay for your use of the road when you are wearing out the tarmac.

With the price of Electricity going up all the time, it probably won't be economical to drive electric cars, remember LPG, the fuel of the future, the government encouraged us to convert to it then started to raise the price of LPG once people started using it.

Originally Posted by JDNSW

The problem with that article is that although it implies funds for roads are tied to fuel excise, there is in fact, no such linkage. There was originally, but there has not been for many years. Excise goes into consolidated revenue, and Federal road funding comes out of consolidated revenue.

The idea that they are linked is kept alive by the availability of relief from the excise for some offroad use (but not, for example for recreational boating, home small engine use, such as mowers etc - I don't think for any offroad petrol use).

And most road funding comes from state and local government, who are not allocated any of the excise - they get Federal money for roads, but this is tied to specific projects, not excise receipts.

Professional fishermen can get excise relief with petrol, came in about 10 years ago.

DL

People are really stupid.

On a local radio show yesterday, following the govt statement , people were ringing in and whingeing about people who own electric cars and high fuel efficient ones as well , for not paying their fair share of taxes in the form of fuel excise , because they believe they are carrying the burden of those who chose to make an environmental statement.

Don't worry, the politicians will simply raise the GST to 15%.