The Federal Labor Government needs to rule out a proposed tax hike on vital regional transport businesses.
Federal Member for Forrest, Nola Marino says Labor has so far refused to rule out the proposed increase in the heavy vehicle road user charge.“If it goes ahead, this tax increase would affect nearly every owner operator and transport business in the South West,” Mrs Marino said.
“It would push up the cost-of-living even further for South West families. It would also increase the cost of doing business and increase the risk to our transport and logistics operators.
“For instance, just consider all the goods in the cold chain that are delivered to and from the South West every day.
“The high quality food produced by growers in our South West is delivered by truck to the end customer,” Mrs Marino said.
The Federal Government is currently considering whether to increase heavy vehicle road user charges on fuel and truck registration costs by either six per cent per year or 10 per cent per year, for the next three years.
The proposed 10 per cent annual increase to the heavy vehicle road user charge would see the tax on fuel jump from the current 27.2 cents per litre up to 36.2 cents per litre by 1 July 2025, according to the National Transport Commission.
In addition, under the proposal, states and territories could also raise the road component of heavy vehicle registration charges.
By 2025-26, Australian trucking operators would be charged over $1.3 billion more per year under the Government’s 10 per cent heavy haulage tax hike, according to official documents.
“These businesses are essential for people who live and work in regional Australia,” Mrs Marino said.
