NatRoad says the NSW government is disregarding a large part of the transport industry
The National Road Transport Association (NatRoad) says New South Wales citizens may have to pay more in tax after the state government handed down a toll rebate program.
NatRoad says the government’s exclusion of small businesses with heavy vehicles on its new tolls rebate scheme will only mean more households will pay increased tax.
NatRoad chairman Scott Davidson says the NSW government’s rebate decision is a slap in the face for the transport industry, especially after it continued carrying freight during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We understand that easing the cost-of-living for families is the NSW government’s main game but this will hike costs for those same voters,” Davidson says.
“Making rebates available to some owners of two light commercial vehicles but not operators of larger trucks is farcical, and the cost will inevitably flow through to supermarket and pharmacy check-outs.
“The vast majority of truck operators are small business people and they are already buckling under the pressure of losing their fuel tax credit in the last federal budget.”
NatRoad says its members are working on a thin profit margin of about 2.5 per cent and says that the NSW government’s latest decision shows they don’t care about these workers.
Davidson says NatRoad sent a message to the state government when it appeared before a parliamentary committee inquiry into tolls in September last year.
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“We proposed variable toll rates for off-peak journeys or discounts for multiple journeys to keep trucks off suburban streets, improve environmental outcomes and make travel less congested and safer,” Davidson says.
“There are reasonable and constructive ideas that the NSW government and its monopoly toll roads partner Transurban have chosen to ignore.”
Under the new scheme, after NSW motorists spend more than $375 on tolls in a year, they can receive a 40 per cent cash rebate on further charges to be paid into their bank accounts.
The rebate will be capped at $750 per year.
“The number of road users receiving toll relief will more than double,” NSW premier Dominic Perrottet says.
“Almost 300,000 extra drivers will benefit.”