I WAS doing some more thinking about the implications of a shift in transport from fossil fuels to electrical fuel-based systems.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
One issue that has been raised with this is how does the government replace the revenue loss from the shift?
Currently, as is well known, a large slice of the per litre cost of fuel is government excise.
Electric-powered vehicles do not participate in this and so provide one of the many immediate benefits to the consumer on making the switch.
When you look at what could replace fuel and be equally applied to both types of transport the most practical answer is tyres. So how could this work?
- On purchase a tax would be applied to the tyre, perhaps along the lines of the WET tax on alcohol.
- incorporated in the hub of each tyre would be some sort mileage meter which could be read on registration renewal or at some shorter interval and the per-kilometre tax be invoiced and paid.
- When the tyre is worn out it is delivered to a depot and a tax on the disposal and or recycling of the item be levied.
So what's in it for Orange? Someone has to design and/or manufacture and install the hub mileage meter; someone has to accept, store and recycle the used tyres; and someone has to administer and collect the levies and taxes for the cycle.
Orange has the business and expertise to implement the first with little change to existing systems.
Orange City Council could provide the land space for the second. There are other places in Australia already progressing down this road, so a map for development would not be totally breaking new ground.
The collection of revenues and administration systems are well established for all sorts of other products and services, so no great learning curve there.
The potential for jobs and associated businesses is well worth a close look in my opinion.
Yours faithfully,
Conrad Silvester
- Readers can submit their Letters to the Editor by dropping them into the Central Western Daily’s office at 190 Lords Place; emailing them to mail.cwd@fairfaxmedia.com.au; or via the ‘Letters to the Editor’ link and form at the bottom of the www.centralwesterndaily.com.au homepage.