![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
pathology_docSo why penalise them?
A TAX on power used in electric cars should be considered by Treasury, a parliamentary committee says.
An inquiry into the Government's plan to increase LPG fuel excise heard that electric cars should be treated similarly.
The committee's report said while few cars run on electricity, it is an emerging issue.
In other words, electric cars would be free to draw their energy from the power grid at large, putting them at an advantage over petrol vehicles and hybrids. Gotta tax that!
Treasury should start consulting industry "with a view to developing an excise equivalent tax for the electricity used by electric vehicles in the medium term".
"One of the key motivators behind the legislation is to reduce distortions in the fuels sector," the committee said.
The Government said it would consider the report.
With the credit card maxed out and the shopping spree by no means over, the dollar signs will be rolling in the Treasurer's head. For 'consider', I figure one should read 'jump on with obscene eagerness'.
Blade Electric Vehicle director Ross Blade said the recommendation was "breathtaking".
He's not the only one.
"I find it extraordinary to think that's being talked about now, before people have an incentive to drive (an electric car)," he said.
Way to treat an emerging "green" industry - step on it and eliminate one of the few practical incentives for ordinary Australians to get in on the ground level. Under the fucking abortion known as a "carbon tax", electricity would be expensive enough as it is without some sort of "fuel excise" being slapped on it. Is there any decision this government can make that isn't littered with incompetence from start to finish?
The recommendation comes as the heated debate on a carbon tax continues, and Australians are told to use cleaner fuels.
Prof Ross Garnaut sang the praises of electric cars in his final report into climate change this week.
"Zero emissions road vehicles now seem set to be the most promising source of abatement in the transport sector," he wrote.
So why isn't he doing his utmost to bury this obscene recommendation with a stake through its heart and its head lopped off?
Opposition members on the economics committee argued against increasing tax on gas.
The Coalition continued its attack on the carbon tax proposal yesterday, with environment spokesman Greg Hunt calling for the Government to rule out petrol being included.
Why? Because it will hurt lower-income-bracket Australians badly. You know, the blue-collar sort who used to be Labor's guaranteed constituency and who stand to lose the most from Labor's morally repugnant cosying-up to the Greens. And all the "compensation" in the world won't stop that hurt on the day-to-day level.
I want to find the people who made this recommendation, tie them into chairs, fit them with headphones, and blast the song "Greased Lightning" into their heads at maximum volume. As soon as they stop screaming in denial and start tapping their feet and singing along, we'll know its safe to let them make decisions about the future of road transport in this country.
MEANWHILE, IN OTHER AUTOMOTIVE NEWS:
I don't care if you're male or female, I don't care if you're a car enthusiast or not. Just watch this, and let your inner child out to play.
A TAX on power used in electric cars should be considered by Treasury, a parliamentary committee says.
An inquiry into the Government's plan to increase LPG fuel excise heard that electric cars should be treated similarly.
The committee's report said while few cars run on electricity, it is an emerging issue.
In other words, electric cars would be free to draw their energy from the power grid at large, putting them at an advantage over petrol vehicles and hybrids. Gotta tax that!
Treasury should start consulting industry "with a view to developing an excise equivalent tax for the electricity used by electric vehicles in the medium term".
"One of the key motivators behind the legislation is to reduce distortions in the fuels sector," the committee said.
The Government said it would consider the report.
With the credit card maxed out and the shopping spree by no means over, the dollar signs will be rolling in the Treasurer's head. For 'consider', I figure one should read 'jump on with obscene eagerness'.
Blade Electric Vehicle director Ross Blade said the recommendation was "breathtaking".
He's not the only one.
"I find it extraordinary to think that's being talked about now, before people have an incentive to drive (an electric car)," he said.
Way to treat an emerging "green" industry - step on it and eliminate one of the few practical incentives for ordinary Australians to get in on the ground level. Under the fucking abortion known as a "carbon tax", electricity would be expensive enough as it is without some sort of "fuel excise" being slapped on it. Is there any decision this government can make that isn't littered with incompetence from start to finish?
The recommendation comes as the heated debate on a carbon tax continues, and Australians are told to use cleaner fuels.
Prof Ross Garnaut sang the praises of electric cars in his final report into climate change this week.
"Zero emissions road vehicles now seem set to be the most promising source of abatement in the transport sector," he wrote.
So why isn't he doing his utmost to bury this obscene recommendation with a stake through its heart and its head lopped off?
Opposition members on the economics committee argued against increasing tax on gas.
The Coalition continued its attack on the carbon tax proposal yesterday, with environment spokesman Greg Hunt calling for the Government to rule out petrol being included.
Why? Because it will hurt lower-income-bracket Australians badly. You know, the blue-collar sort who used to be Labor's guaranteed constituency and who stand to lose the most from Labor's morally repugnant cosying-up to the Greens. And all the "compensation" in the world won't stop that hurt on the day-to-day level.
I want to find the people who made this recommendation, tie them into chairs, fit them with headphones, and blast the song "Greased Lightning" into their heads at maximum volume. As soon as they stop screaming in denial and start tapping their feet and singing along, we'll know its safe to let them make decisions about the future of road transport in this country.
MEANWHILE, IN OTHER AUTOMOTIVE NEWS:
I don't care if you're male or female, I don't care if you're a car enthusiast or not. Just watch this, and let your inner child out to play.