ATA calls for increased fuel tax credits

The Australian Trucking Association has called upon the Government to boost fuel tax credits in the next federal budget

The Australian Trucking Association is lobbying the Federal Government to increase the industry’s fuel tax credits by 1.04 cents per litre, with ATA Managing Director, Stuart St Clair (pictured), saying the truck industry has been overcharged for years.

“The trucking industry pays for its use of the roads through fuel tax and very large registration charges,” he said.

“The industry has been overcharged since 2007, though, because the system used to calculate them underestimates the number of trucks on the road.

“As a result, trucking operators will be overcharged by $800 million in 2013-14 alone.”

The ATA is calling for the increase as a part of several recommendations the body has made in its 2014-15 pre-budget submission.

“The National Transport Commission, which determines the taxes and charges applied to the industry, has now recognised that we pay too much.

“It released a draft regulatory impact statement last year proposing important changes to the way the charges are calculated. Under its ‘Option A’, operators would be able to claim an extra 1.04 cents per litre in fuel tax credits.

“The Australian Government should include this option in the budget. It’s now confirmed that trucking operators are overcharged: the Government needs to act,” he said.

The ATA has also urged the Government to reduce truck registration fees over the longer term, offset by adjusting the industry’s fuel tax credits.

“The industry’s high registration charges make it difficult for small trucking businesses to manage their cashflow,” said St Clair.

“We also know that operators find it easier to recover fuel costs from their customers, rather than registration charges.”

The submission also recommends that the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) be allocated an extra $4.3 million over four years to establish national databases of coronial recommendations regarding road safety and serious heavy vehicle accidents.

“Setting up these databases would be the first step toward the ATSB taking on the role of investigating serious truck crashes and making safety recommendations,” St Clair said.

Presently the ATSB focuses primarily on air safety investigations, plus marine and some rail accidents.

ATA calls for increased fuel tax credits

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