REGIONAL and rural householders will be hit by yet another tax hike, this time on the fuel they fill their vehicles with.
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While many in metropolitan areas chose public transport to get around, motorists living in regional and rural areas rely on their vehicles to get them from A to B.
And for those living on farming properties, the fuel tax hike will hit even harder. Already struggling, farmers will need to find extra cash to fill their tractors, harvesters and other essential equipment on the property.
The fuel tax will go up in November after the federal government on Tuesday found a way around a Senate blockage to its bid to reintroduce indexation.
The tax will initially increase from 38.143 cents a litre to 38.6 cents a litre from November 10.
That may not sound like a large increase, but when you’re already struggling to make ends meet, it all adds up. Finance Minister Mathias Cormann said the government would use “tariff proposals”, to be tabled in Parliament this week, to bring about the hike.
“While the impact on individual households will be modest, this measure will provide a predictable and growing source of revenue, which will help the government boost its investment in job creating and productivity enhancing road infrastructure,” Senator Cormann said.
He said money raised by the tax hike would be used for roads and not go back to fuel companies.
That’s good to hear, but what about the poor motorists, many of whom can ill afford even those most marginal of price increases?
Apprentice tradies to gain rego reprieve
WHILE it was bad news for motorists on one hand, there was some good news on Tuesday on the other. Apprentice tradies will receive a 50 per cent discount on their car registration if Labor wins the state election.
Opposition Leader Daniel Andrews said apprentice bricklayers, carpenters, joiners, electricians and plumbers would pay half the cost of registration for their vehicles. He said VicRoads would ensure the scheme was available only for tradies who required a car for their work.
The initiative would save apprentice tradies around $378 a year. That’s good news for those who already struggle on low tradie wages and need their vehicles for work.