NSW and ACT ministers play it cool on electric car tax

The Driven

Senior ministers in New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory are extinguishing ideas of following other states in adding an electric vehicle (EV)  tax, a move that is at odds with other jurisdictions around the world.

The ACT and its chief minister Andrew Barr made it very clear that there will be no EV tax in the ACT – not surprising given that it is the most EV-friendly jurisdiction in Australia with zero interest loans and free rego.

But comments from Liberal NSW minister for energy Matt Kean and minister for transport Andrew Constance on Sunday illustrate the conflicts of interest in state politics that are holding back policy to encourage zero emissions vehicle adoption, and putting the states’ own net zero carbon targets at risk.

NSW treasurer Dominic Perrottet attracted criticism in mid-November for his plan to tout an electric car tax to cabinet in the next 12 months.

It followed news that South Australia and Victoria are looking to impose a road user charge on electric car owners. In Victoria, this would be 2.5 cents per kilometres for electric cars, and 2 cents per kilometre for plug-in hybrids.

Proponents of road user fees say electric cars do not contribute to road maintenance costs, but critics note there is no link between fuel excise and road funding – it is just used as general revenue – and say that EV owners pay more tax on average per car owner because of the higher cost of EVs.

They also note the ability of EVs to reduce the health and societal costs caused by air pollution and carbon emissions from burning fuel.

While the senior NSW ministers agree that electric car owners – which currently only number around 20,000 nationwide – should contribute to roads, they say it is imperative that electric car adoption is encouraged, not discouraged by an additional fee.

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