Posted: Mon 12th May 8:54am Post subject: Cycling Advocates Say ' Get Used To Petrol Price Hikes '
The Cycling Advocates' Network (CAN) says fuel price hikes are inevitable over the foreseeable future, so motorists need to get used to them, or drive less.
CAN also calls for the government to increase fuel taxes to help wean New Zealand off its car addiction.
CAN spokesperson Axel Wilke says ‘CAN calls for “tax shifting”, where government increases petrol taxes and introduces diesel excise tax while reducing company and income taxes. We need urgent measures to encourage more sustainable travel in line with the New Zealand Transport Strategy. Increasing the petrol price helps reduce dependence on the car, but on its own also has negative impacts for consumers, and for disadvantaged groups especially. Countries such as Austria, Finland, Germany and Sweden use tax-shifting successfully and New Zealand should follow suit.’
As a result CAN says people will have real incentives to walk, cycle and use public transport more, while also saving money and staying healthier.
Wilke comments, ‘New Zealand has amongst the lowest fuel taxes and prices at the pump in the western world. But the transport sector uses more energy than any other sector and is also the fastest growing, with its carbon emissions growing in parallel. Transport's impacts on the environment, as well as other sectors, are significant. For example, transport-related health conditions are a major cost in the health sector. Tax shifting works and makes more sense than emissions trading, for example, because it is more targeted and doesn’t hit the ordinary consumer as hard.’
CAN believes that petrol and diesel excise should be increased by 20 cents/litre now, , and by an additional 10 cents/litre/year in subsequent years. This increase is likely to be minor relative to the increases that will occur regardless. Petrol prices have increased by more than 30 cents per litre in the last year.
Thats a rather short sighted and blinkered view of things.
Introducing Diesel excise tax? They really have no idea what they are talking about then.. Excise tax is to pay for roads, being levied at the point of entry into NZ, diesel is used for applications other than road fuel, hence the road user charges system for diesel vehicles.
What actual justification do they have for increasing taxes on fuel, other than they are smelly douchbag hippies.
Joined: May 13, 2005 Posts: 1,682 Location: Otumoetai
Posted: Mon 12th May 9:45am Post subject:
phunk wrote:
Thats a rather short sighted and blinkered view of things.
Introducing Diesel excise tax? They really have no idea what they are talking about then.. Excise tax is to pay for roads, being levied at the point of entry into NZ, diesel is used for applications other than road fuel, hence the road user charges system for diesel vehicles.
What actual justification do they have for increasing taxes on fuel, other than they are smelly douchbag hippies.
Seconded. good example of not doing your homework properly, diesel has far more uses than 4x4s and trucks. how do they think their precious soy bean crops were cultivated?
Joined: Nov 05, 2007 Posts: 45 Location: Stuck inside again
Posted: Mon 12th May 6:59pm Post subject:
Oh dear - some typcasting here - ordinary cyclists riding to work/shops/friends in NZ plus voters in Austria, Finland, Germany and Sweden are suddenly all douche bag soya bean eating hippies. Sounds a bit like Pastor Fred Phelps to me! www.godhatesgafs.com/
The proposition is intended to be tax neutral - if you choose to use lots of hydrocarbon fuel in whatever manner, you will pay lots of your taxes that way and the govt should reduce everyone's income tax to keep the total amount of tax paid the same as it would have been. You only lose if you use more fuel than the average NZ tax payer.
Good on them for throwing the idea into the ring this early in the election run up, I say.
Joined: Feb 23, 2005 Posts: 6,321 Location: churchur
Posted: Mon 12th May 7:24pm Post subject:
CAN are the ones who generally advocate local councils to get things like cycle lanes put in. Their views might be a bit extreme... but they get good stuff done!
CAN get a lot of good done, but I tihnk that in pushing any agenda, it's important to avoid a holier than thou / I told You So approach. It's also important to cite things truthfully, and avoid sounding like a propaganda machine.
CAN is begging for hauling up when they cite Finland and Sweden as examples. The Personal tax rate in Sweden and Finland is significantly higher than NZL, the countries better suited to it, while GST is 25%+ (more in Finland, where people actually drive their cars over the border to Sweden to shop. I could go further...
CAN basically put themselves in the "fringe no one listens too crazy freaks with beards cycle touring hippy" pile with this press release.
all it does is alienate, so not sure what an earth they are trying to achieve. where is the marketing person for them.. surely they lurk on vorb.. perhaps they can clarify who an earth they are trying to influence...
Pretty much. Makes them sound like a bunch of holier than thou douches with that kind of attitude.
Surely motorists are already paying there own way? I would have thought that petrol taxes would more than pay for the social costs of car usage? (Unlike public transport which is heavily sunsidised by both the state and drivers)
Joined: Dec 25, 2001 Posts: 17,544 Location: Showing my tan lines
Posted: Mon 12th May 9:02pm Post subject:
Nick_K wrote:
Surely motorists are already paying there own way? I would have thought that petrol taxes would more than pay for the social costs of car usage? (Unlike public transport which is heavily sunsidised by both the state and drivers)
Surely motorists are already paying there own way? I would have thought that petrol taxes would more than pay for the social costs of car usage? (Unlike public transport which is heavily sunsidised by both the state and drivers)
And rightly so too
What that motorists subsidise public transport? Why should I subsidise someone elses transportation choices?
Joined: Dec 25, 2001 Posts: 17,544 Location: Showing my tan lines
Posted: Mon 12th May 9:06pm Post subject:
Nick_K wrote:
SlackBoy wrote:
Nick_K wrote:
Surely motorists are already paying there own way? I would have thought that petrol taxes would more than pay for the social costs of car usage? (Unlike public transport which is heavily sunsidised by both the state and drivers)
And rightly so too
What that motorists subsidise public transport? Why should I subsidise someone elses transportation choices?
Cos then no-one would use public transport, as it would be way more expensive, then a metric kcufload more people would be in their cars on teh roads making your daily trip to work far worse, time and frustration wise.
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