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https://thedriven.io/2025/08/31/we-subsidise-miners-to-use-diesel-to-dig-up-coal-and-now-we-want-to-tax-evs/>
"Several articles have already gone over the myth that fuel excise tax (FET)
“pays for our roads” and that EV drivers are somehow getting a free ride.
It was disappointing that even the Treasurer was happy to use this line. To
reiterate, FET goes directly into general revenue, although about 5.5% has been
“hypothecated” to road infrastructure since 2014 – about A$1 billion each year.
Excise taxes are routinely used by governments to primarily raise revenue, and
also to dissuade people from using certain products, notably cigarettes and
alcohol.
Income goes into general revenue and is rarely if ever earmarked for specific
programs to target the harms caused by those products.
A search of Energy.gov.au, the Parliamentary Budget office (PBO) and Minister
Bowen’s department (DCCEEW) reveals some interesting facts.
Between 2014 and 2024, the volume of automotive gasoline sold in Australia
declined by 10.3%, consistent with the improvement in overall fleet efficiency
despite an increase in number of cars on the road.
To be clear, EVs are still less than 2% of the fleet and any effect on this is
less than a rounding error.
The volume of diesel sold over this same period increased by 27 .5%, meaning
that overall fuel sales increased by 12% between 2014 and 2024.
Since the FET is applied “at the terminal gate”, the amount collected also
increased. The extra fuel sold and burned is also partly reflected in the 6%
increase in transport emissions between 2014 and 2024.
So what’s going on with the FET?"
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
