[bikeqld] RACQ poll on fuel subsidy (fwd)

[Michael Yeates]

It probably needs a bit more exploration (explanation?) than that ...

Who is it collected from ?

MOST IMPORTANTLY, why ie for what purpose was it and is it collected?

[ In Queensland to reduce the cost of fuel? (sounds a bit like a 
subsidy?) In NSW was it part of the road improvement funding? ]

What are the costs of handling it ie the admin (and enforcement?) costs?

As a "tax" the question arises why collect it then hand it back if it 
could be put to "better" use?

Better use might include improved public transport or even improved 
roads and more facilities for cyclists (so all road users benefit not 
just motorists).

If it was used (as in the previous sentence) then all road users 
would benefit whether they drive a lot or a bit or not at all.

It is pretty much a Queensland thing (closely related to the "low 
tax" state claims for which we may now be about to pay dearly) that 
we can't avoid it being collected but want it returned to make 
conditions on the roads worse ... rather than spent to make 
conditions on the road better.

And there is more to it than that ... like how much of the 8c does 
the state government keep and if it does not keep any, then how much 
does it cost the state out of each 8c to hand it back AND enforce we 
get the whole 8c back?

MY......................

At 02:13 PM 28/05/2009, Glen Fergus wrote:

>That miss-states things a bit Peter.  For constitutional
>reasons the 8c/L is a Commonwealth tax collected on
>behalf of state governments, and remitted directly to
>them.  Queensland, in it's wisdom (and for largely
>historical reasons), chooses to rebate the tax via
>petrol retailers (previously wholesalers), who appear
>to pocket a slab of it before passing on the rest.
>So the 8c isn't really a subsidy, rather a nationally
>collected tax messily forgone.  So those who don't
>drive much neither gain nor lose.
>
>Don't get me wrong, I voted to get rid of it ... around
>30 times IIRC.  (Early and often, I say.  I wonder if
>the filtered IP multiples?)
>
>G.
>
>
>
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: bikeqld-bounces at bikeqld.org.au
> > [mailto:bikeqld-bounces at bikeqld.org.au] On Behalf Of Peter Whittle
> > Sent: Thursday, 28 May 2009 1:47 PM
> > To: Ian Lister; Richard Hockey
> > Cc: bikeqld at bikeqld.org.au
> > Subject: RE: [bikeqld] RACQ poll on fuel subsidy (fwd)
> >
> > I've just written to RACQ as a gold member, saying the poll
> > and the petition misrepresent the issues and are not in the
> > best interests of many members:
> >
> > - those who do not drive a lot will pay more in their tax
> > than they get back
> > - taxing and returning the funds is an inefficient way to
> > achieve a policy outcome, with bureaucratic overheads and
> > misdirecting of the tax money
> > - many motorists and RACQ motorists think we should be
> > encouraged to drive less and that paying the full cost for
> > limited resources is desirable.
> >
> > Any RACQ members amongst you could usefully add your
> > objections and ask RACQ to provide the full arguments on both
> > sides of the tax.
> >
> > Pete
> >
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: bikeqld-bounces at bikeqld.org.au
> > [mailto:bikeqld-bounces at bikeqld.org.au] On Behalf Of Ian Lister
> > Sent: Thursday, 28 May 2009 11:26 AM
> > To: Richard Hockey
> > Cc: bikeqld at bikeqld.org.au
> > Subject: RE: [bikeqld] RACQ poll on fuel subsidy (fwd)
> >
> > On Thu, 28 May 2009, Richard Hockey wrote:
> > > It's not a poll in that you cannot register support for
> > scrapping the
> > > subsidy. You can however email them at fueltax at racq.com.au
> >
> > It was a poll last week, and 20% of the 1258 respondents registered
> > support for scrapping the subsidy:
> >
> >      http://www.racq.com.au/about_us/previous_polls
> >
> > Presumably based on those results, it's now a petition.
> >
> > Ian
> >
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