World News – AU – Mixed reactions to Victoria’s proposal to tax electric vehicle users

The Victorian government’s plans to tax electric vehicle owners with a road toll could discourage people from taking advantage of the new technology, according to an industry group.

The new tax was announced on Saturday by Victorian Treasurer Tim Pallas in advance of the release of the state budget.

A 2. Electric and other zero-emission vehicles, including hydrogen vehicles, would be charged a fee of 5 cents / km, and a 2. A fee of 0 cents / km would be charged for plug-in hybrid electric vehicles.

« We need to recognize that we need to take appropriate precautions when we use more electric and low-emission vehicles on the grid, » he said.

Behyad Jafari, chairman of the board of the Electric Vehicle Council (EVC), which represents the industry in Australia, said the tax would « adversely affect the acceptance and availability of electric vehicles in Australia ». .

« Our market is already behind a list of other developed nations with less than 1 percent of vehicles sold in Australia being electric – and [the tax] will only do more harm to that. « 

We offer bespoke front pages for the local audience in every state and territory. Learn how to sign up for more Victorian news.

Adrian Dwyer, the executive director of Infrastructure Partnerships Australia (IPA), a think tank demanding road tolls for electric vehicles, however, said the tax would help ensure roads are paid as more people migrate from gasoline. and diesel powered vehicles.

« Right now we are collecting about $ 11 billion a year through excise taxes, and that’s falling with the higher fuel efficiency of end-stage vehicles, » he said.

« If those dollars go, the money has to come from somewhere to pay for the streets. « 

Mr. Dwyer also opposed the idea that the new tax would turn people away from electric cars.

« I think it’s pretty clear that someone who owns a Tesla is worth 180. $ 000 buys doesn’t get discouraged by a few hundred dollars a year in road tolls, « he said.

The tax would make Victoria the second state to announce a tax on EV users. South Australia announced a similar move this month.

« This is essentially the government making it a fairer system for everyone to pay their share of the attrition that is putting them all in place, » he said.

But Mr Pallas said that the next budget for measures to encourage the use of electric cars, such as creating more charging stations, would « more than offset » $ 45 million.

Mr Dwyer said moving to a « pay for what you use » approach is important to ensure that governments continue to generate revenue from road users.

« This is a lazy tax that undermines the wider reform of replacing fuel consumption tax with road tolls, » said traffic spokesman Sam Hibbins in a statement.

« Introducing a stand-alone tax on electric vehicles without major reforms has a negative impact on cleaner air and lower emissions. « 

Mr Jafari also recognized the need for road tax reform but said that encouraging the adoption of electric vehicles should come before any new taxes are considered.

« Nobody is against the idea of ​​talking about road finance reform – it’s really all about timing, » he said.

« And at this very early stage for electric vehicles, while the rest of the world is offering support to drive adoption, this is the wrong time for Victoria to tax them and discourage people from buying. « 

This service may contain material from Agence France-Presse (AFP), APTN, Reuters, AAP, CNN and the BBC World Service that is copyrighted and cannot be reproduced.

AEST = Australian Eastern Standard Time, 10 hours before GMT (Greenwich Mean Time)

Victoria, Tim Pallas, electric vehicle, state budget