RUC freeze continues

In a victory for Australian trucking, the Federal Government has decided to continue the current freeze of the heavy vehicle Road User Charge for the 2015-16 financial year, while reiterating the National Transport Commission's findings that the model used to determine the charge is flawed.

The Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Infrastructure and Regional Development, Warren Truss, said the continuation of the freeze would benefit truck businesses and ultimately the nation.

"This decision is good for the heavy vehicle industry and the national economy," he said in a media statement.

"By maintaining the rate of the Road User Charge for a third year, the Australian Government is doing its bit to support heavy vehicle productivity, while ensuring the sector pays its share of road maintenance and construction costs.

Mr Truss said the decision was made following "findings by the National Transport Commission that the Road User Charge has been over-collected in recent years."

The industry's peak representative body, the Australian Trucking Association, has been lobbying for years to have the RUC freeze extended, following the NTC's admission that the charging model has been underestimating the number of trucks on our roads since 2007.

Mr Truss has been an outspoken opponent of the flawed model for several years, previously demanding that the former Gillard-led Labor Government address the issue of overcharging

"Over-inflating road user charges, in what can only be described as a shameless and deceitful tax grab by a desperate government, will further drive up the cost of transporting consumer goods and commodities, undoubtedly hitting grocery prices at the checkout and making our industry less competitive," he stated in a media release dated April 13, 2012.

"While the Coalition and the trucking industry agree that drivers should pay their fair share to maintain roads across the country, this over-the-odds slug based on an imaginary truck fleet is unconscionable," the release continues.

While there's still no word of rectifying the charging model, the Government's announcement will now see the RUC remain at its current rate of 26.14 cents for litre for the next financial year.

The ATA's CEO, Christopher Melham, applauded the decision, saying it was a welcome follow-up to the positive news brought by the recently unveiled Federal Budget.

"More than 45,000 of the 49,000 businesses in the trucking industry will benefit from the small business tax changes in the budget," he said.

"Now the Government has followed up by freezing the fuel tax paid by all of Australia's 49,000 trucking operators.

"It's an extremely welcome announcement, and shows the Government has listened to the industry. I want to thank the Deputy Prime Minister, and also the Treasurer, for considering our arguments about the problems with the model used by the National Transport Commission to calculate our fuel tax and registration charges.

"The NTC's charging model is supposed to ensure that the fuel tax and heavy vehicle registration charges cover the cost of the truck and bus industries' use of the road system.

"But the NTC has conceded that its model is flawed, because it underestimates the number of heavy vehicles on the road. It loses about 52,000 vehicles. As a result, the calculated charge on each vehicle is too high, as is the total amount collected.

"The NTC recommended that the fuel tax on trucks and buses should be increased by 0.6 per cent in 2015-16. This would have resulted in our industries being overcharged by about $117 million.

"The Government's decision to freeze our fuel tax for the second year running will reduce the level of over-recovery. It is a great result."

The decision came following a period of consultation with industry stakeholders earlier this year, led by the NTC.