Most Victorians want support for electric vehicles, not taxes

Two-thirds of Victorians would rather see electric vehicle adoption supported than have to pay an EV tax that has been labelled by industry stakeholders as “backwards“ and “shameful“.

An electric vehicle (EV) tax that would see plug-in electric car owners pay up to 2.5 cents per kilometre in lieu of fuel excise paid was touted in late 2020 by Victorian treasurer Tim Pallas.

Electric vehicles currently make up less than 1% of cars on Australian roads, and the tax, which is similar to one proposed for South Australia, and possibly under consideration in NSW, is being touted as a substitute for falling fuel excise revenue, even though the main reason this revenue downturn is the result of more efficient petrol and diesel vehicles.

But a new survey that polled 2,000 voters shows that voters don’t want an electric vehicle tax.

A whopping 80% agree the government should be doing more to support the transition to clean transport, and nearly half of drivers would like to buy an electric vehicle next time they buy a car, the survey commissioned by the Electric Vehicle Council reveals.

Notably, nearly half of those surveyed across six key electorates also think the electric vehicle industry does not receive as much support as the legacy auto industry.

To read the full version of this story, please go to our EV-focussed sister site, The Driven and click here…