RACQ supports "pay as you drive" tax

At 8c per kilometre, and the average annual kilometres travelled for the average person is 15,000 per annum... that would mean that you'd be paying $1,200.

Twenty thousand kilometres = 1,600

Each five thousand kilometres is equivalent to $400.

When I was working in Brisbane my travelling was more than 30,000ks per year which at 8 cents per kilometre would equal $2,400 per annum. For those who can least afford it, ie, those people who live outside the city area , where it is cheaper to buy/build, who may not have access to public transport and need to use their cars it would be a huge impost.

The RACQ supports this. I thought the RACQ was supposed to be there for motorists - they seem to be there for whatever green scheme takes the government's fancy.

At three cents per kilometre the rate would be $150/5000km.

So, what's your average kilometres travelled?

It's being branded as a method to combat road congestion, but how will it do that? Most people who drive now do it very carefully considering all things, including wasting time in traffic and the cost of parking and petrol.

To their credit the RACQ said that it would only support this tax if other areas of taxation of motorists were cut.

The Queensland government has received $920.4 million in vehicle registrations in the past 10 months, with its registration fees the highest of the Australia states, ranging between 17 per cent for four cylinder vehicles and 22 per cent for eight cylinders.

The federal government charges a fuel excise of 38.14 cents per litre, which already provides a way for motorists to pay more tax commiserate with kilometres travelled.
This generated $9.12 billion of the $15.5 billion collected from roads in 2005-06.

In a sample "per kilometre" pricing scheme put forward by the IPA which scraps all existing road charges, including vehicle registration, an average eight cents per kilometre charge has been proposed.

And, hey, what a surprise, they reckon they'll raise more than what they already raise with the current taxes and tariffs... a whole extra $4B, that's BILLION.

IPA executive director Brendan Lyon said its charges model showed it was possible to raise an extra $4 billion for infrastructure projects each year.

So, who's going to be paying? (Hint, anyone who travels any distance, anyone who purchases anything which needs to be transported distances....)

Read more here.

I really hope that the nongs who voted for the ALP in Qld and Federally have now woken from their torpor.

Update:

Come to think of it, this prototype of a flying mini... needs more research and development.