It’s often said that small businesses are the backbone of Australia’s economy. If that’s the case, then truckies are our nervous system, connecting local economies to the global market and our critical supply chains to consumers.
Federal Labor’s plan to impose a 10% per year increase in fuel taxes and registration charges on the nation’s truckies would cost the sector an additional $2.6 billion over three years and add even more pressure to inflation.
Federal Member for Fisher, Andrew Wallace said the Albanese Government’s proposed increases to ‘truckie taxes’ would drive up cost-of-living pressures on local families and businesses and accelerate closures for small and family operated transport enterprises.
“Everything we grow, bake, manufacturer and make in Fisher gets to a shop or to your front door on a truck. If we’re serious about backing Australian-made goods and produce, then we’ve got to get behind our truckies, not stand in their way,” Mr Wallace said.
“While inflation soars, fuel costs skyrocket, and the cost-of-living crisis cripples Australian families and their businesses, why on Earth would the Federal Labor Government propose to recklessly increase these excessive taxes on transport?” Mr Wallace continued.
Over 4000 Sunshine Coast locals are employed in the transport and logistics sector across over 1500 businesses. The sector adds $470 million to our local economy, with almost $200 million from road transport alone.
After 3 years of challenging conditions thanks to COVID-19 and global supply chain issues, we can’t afford this kind of reckless interference from the Albanese Government.
Federal Labor is currently proposing to increase heavy vehicle road user charges on fuel and truck registration costs by either 6% per year or 10% per year, for the next three years.
The proposed 10% annual increase to the heavy vehicle road user charge would see the tax truckies pay 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 the states and territories would raise the road component of heavy vehicle registration charges by up to 10% per year for three years.
“If Anthony Albanese’s 10% truckie tax is implemented, local trucking operators would be slugged extra tax to raise an additional $2.6 billion nationally over the initial three-year implementation period,” Mr Wallace said.
“By 2025-26 the nation’s truckies would be charged $1.35 billion more per year under the Federal Government’s 10% truckie tax, official documents show.”
“The additional taxes proposed by Federal Labor could send some trucking businesses to the wall.”
Every single submission to the government’s consultation process has rejected the proposed increases in truckie taxes, from the Australian Trucking Association to the National Farmers’ Federation. Once again, this Albanese Labor Government are hanging small and family businesses out to dry and ignoring the advice of industry and experts. Australians deserve better.
