The Australian Trucking Association (ATA) has warned that the industry’s fuel tax credits could be gone by 2031 if the Productivity Commission’s plan is implemented.
ATA CEO, Mathew Munro, made the dire warning in the event the Federal Government combines the Productivity Commission’s recommendation to phase out tax credits with its current approach to road user charging.
The Productivity Commission recommendation focuses on a the net-zero transition, with emphasis on phasing out the fuel tax credits for heavy vehicles on public roads.
Munro has recently wrapped up two weeks of intensive lobbying to defend the industry’s fuel tax credits.
The ATA has met with senior government ministers, ministerial staff and departmental officials, including ATA Chair, Mark Parry, travelling to Canberra and Melbourne to press the industry’s concerns.
Munro said the ATA had shared forecasts of the fuel excise, road user charge and fuel tax credit rates with ministers.
“In our meetings, we emphasised that the commission’s plan assumes that the Government will scrap its existing approach to road pricing,” he said.
“We pointed out that it is not possible to increase the road user charge in line with a road pricing model and implement the commission’s phase out as well.
“This approach would increase effective fuel tax by more than 10 per cent per year and would mean the industry’s fuel tax credits would be gone by 2031.”
Munro emphasised that freight costs would skyrocket if the fuel credits were ended, leading to thousands of trucking businesses failing.
“Our members have raised the possible removal of fuel tax credits as their number one issue. We have responded by giving it our highest priority. We must deal with the issue right now because the Government is preparing its budget,” he said.
Read more about the Productivity Commission’s proposals.
Read more about the ATA’s stance on fuel tax credits here and also here.
Read the ATA’s pre-budget submission here.
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