2023-10-18
The Greens have welcomed the end of the electrical vehicle tax in Victoria but warned that the High Court’s ruling doesn’t preclude a new federal tax on electric vehicles.
Last November, the Greens used balance of power to secure a deal that put downward pressure on EV prices, which was estimated to reduce the price by $4,700 for individuals or up to $9,000 for businesses.
The Greens also took a fully-costed policy to the last federal election that would have seen EV prices come down by approximately 20%, through the removal of import tariffs, GST and stamp and registration duty on all new EVs, waiving registration fees for the first 3 years, and spending $150 million on public fast-charging infrastructure.
While the conservative UK government will ban the sale of petrol and diesel cars by 2035, and Norway will do the same by 2025, Australia still has no national plan for electric vehicles.
Lines attributable to Greens Leader Adam Bandt MP:
“We need to be making electric cars cheaper, not more expensive,” said Mr Bandt.
“It's good that there won't be a tax on electric vehicles because it was a bad idea to begin with.
“But the High Court also clarified that while the Victorian tax was unlawful, the Commonwealth has the ability to introduce a new tax if they want to.
“The Greens are calling on Labor to rule out introducing a tax on electric vehicles.
“We should be making electric vehicles cheaper and more affordable, not making them more expensive with an electric vehicles tax.”