Drop Petrol Tax Increases Says NZ First
New Zealand First transport spokesperson Peter Brown is calling for the Government to put a stop to increasing petrol
taxes following further petrol price rises.
“Despite high crude oil prices, much of the current cost of petrol reflects the taxes collected by the Government, with
less than half of that tax revenue collected actually being spent on essential transport infrastructure and road safety
activities,” Mr Brown said.
“The introduction of the new Customs and Excise (Motor Spirits) Amendment Bill in April next year signals the fourth
unnecessary increase in petrol levies since Labour came to power in 1999.
“In July 2001 they increased petrol tax from 17.8 cents a litre to 18.5 cents a litre through the Crown Revenue
Petroleum Excise Tax, and in March 2002 the National Roads Fund saw an increase in petrol tax from 13.5 cents a litre to
17.7 cents a litre.
“Last year’s Injury Prevention, Rehabilitation and Compensation Amendment Bill further increased the petrol levies used
to fund ACC from 2.3 cents a litre to 5.08 cents.
“While the Government seems content to blame the unprecedented rise in oil on continuing instability in the Middle East
and a stretched global supply system, motorists are being hit hard by price rises, which seem to happen at whim and with
less warning.
“New Zealand First has consistently argued that all the monies taken from the petrol motorist should go directly into
upgrading and building more roads.
"If all petrol tax was diverted to developing our transport infrastructure, it would easily be possible to manage an
annual programme within existing tax structures and help keep price rises to a minimum,” Mr Brown concluded.