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MOTOR traders in Victoria may participate in the collection of the state government’s proposed electric vehicle tax, a method raised as the model for how the tax will be paid, which is now being worked out by the state’s registration authority, VicRoads.

The tax is an initiative of the Department of Treasury and Finance and not strictly the role of VicRoads but, because VicRoads collects registration fees, third party insurance charges and stamp duty on cars it has been given the role of figuring out how the cents-per-kilometre levy will be collected.

Victoria’s tax, announced in last week’s state budget, proposes to charge 2.5 cents per kilometre driven by electric and other low-emissions vehicles and 2 cents per km for plug-in hybrid electric cars.

That means a pure electric vehicle traveling an average of 15,000km a year will pay $375 a year. The tax is expected to raise $30 million over four years.

Victoria’s move to tax EVs follows similar steps flagged by both the governments of South Australia and New South Wales.

The state governments are arguing that all road-users have to pay their way for roads and transport infrastructure via fuel taxes and all they are doing is ensuring that they do not lose taxes and levies as Australia edges its way towards an electric vehicle fleet.

The tax is being levied on distance travelled. It cannot be levied on electrical use because the tax is being applied to low emission vehicles as well and trying to tax all the different fueling methods would be a nightmare.

There are also considerations about how collection by km would deal with a car registered in one state that spends a large amount of time travelling the roads of another state.

GoAutoNews Premium has been told that there is a potential for VicRoads to seek the assistance of the motor trades to report the odometer reading to an online reporting site; potentially when the car is serviced or presented to a licenced vehicle tester.

GoAutoNews Premium has been told that the Victorian Automobile Chamber of Commerce (VACC) is in discussions on how its members can assist VicRoads. The early indications are that VicRoads is looking at an IT reporting solution that will involve both consumer and vehicle industry interaction.

VACC CEO Geoff Gwilym told GoAutoNews Premium that VicRoads is keen to “consult heavily with industry on how this may look”.

“I believe it’s another opportunity for our industry, not just  from a licenced vehicle tester perspective but across the board; whether it’s a dealership or an independent, to have another revenue stream.

“VicRoads want to set it up, but they would like the industry to do the work because it’s not directly within their mandate to do this sort of thing. It’s only because it’s attached to a car that they’ve been roped in,” he said.

By John Mellor

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