ATA says the decision will help decrease fuel tax between now and July 2018
Transport ministers have agreed to not increase heavy vehicle registration and fuel charges in 2017-18, the National Transport Commission (NTC) states.
The ministers have agreed to “freeze revenue” to the approach agreed a year back.
NTC says the decision means that operators “will continue to experience small reductions in heavy vehicle charges while governments retain their capacity to build and maintain roads”.
The approved heavy vehicle charges will remain in place for 12 months starting July 2017 (when the current period ends).
NTC says local jurisdictions will subsequently publish the information on their websites.
The determination comes after a review of the current methodology used to determine heavy vehicle charges, followed by a series of consultations with governments and industry bodies.
The move has been welcomed by the Australian Trucking Association (ATA), which states that the decision will help decrease fuel tax between now and July 2018.
“The ministers’ decision is another win for the ATA and the industry,” ATA acting CEO Bill McKinley tells ATN.
“We called in the 2016 election campaign for the effective fuel tax on trucks to be reduced. This decision delivers the goods.
“As a result of the decision, the ATA expects that the effective fuel tax we pay will decrease from 25.9 cents per litre now to about 25.3 cents per litre from 1 July 2017.
“Although the decrease is welcome, the truck and bus industries will still be overcharged by more than half a billion dollars over the next two years.”
NTC states that the new regulatory component of the registration charge will be passed onto the National Heavy Vehicle Regulator (NHVR) by the participating states and territories, which are responsible of collecting the registration charge; while the revenue from the fuel-based road user charge is collected by the federal government.
For more information, visit the NTC website.