Tuesday 12th June 2012 2 Comments |
Text too small? |
New Zealand's road user charges and petrol excise will rise from August in a vehicle licensing rejig, and will help pay for national transport projects.
The road user charge will rise by 4.1 percent and petrol excise by 2 cents per litre from Aug. 1, while at the same time dropping supplementary licences for heavy vehicles, removing the time licence system, changing existing exemptions, and cutting the administration fee for a licence, Transport Minister Gerry Brownlee said in a statement.
"This increase is effectively a catch-up to ensure there continues to be sufficient revenue available to meet the government’s land transport expenditure targets," Brownlee said. "The funds raised will contribute to the annual $1 billion investment in developing the country’s state highway infrastructure."
The government will reap $1.04 billion from road user charges, $885 million from domestically produced petrol excise and $602 million from imported petrol excise, according to the Treasury's latest forecast. That's forecast to rise to $1.4 billion in road user charges, $1.04 billion in domestically produced petrol excise, and $694 million from imported petrol excise by 2016.
The government plans to spend $6.5 billion on new roads as part of its nationwide infrastructure strategy, having identified seven roads of national importance when it came to power in 2008.
In 2010/11, some 36 percent of the $2.65 billion National Land Transport Fund was spent on new and improved State highways, 23 percent on local road construction and maintenance, 18 percent on maintaining State highways, 10 percent on policing, 9 percent on public transport, and 4 percent on other transport activities.
A 1.5 cent per litre hike in petrol excise was set down form July last year, though the government delayed that increase due to the slow economic recovery from the global financial crisis and the Canterbury earthquakes.
BusinessDesk.co.nz
NZAS Sign Long Term Contracts
Amended - IFT230 Maturity and Exchange for IFT350
Synlait forecast milk price update
Chorus submits 2023 fibre regulatory report
Infratil Infrastructure Bond Exchange Offer opens
May 31st Morning Report
NZAS and Mercury sign long-term agreement, creating opportunity for future investment in renewables
Meridian and NZAS sign long term contracts
ArborGen Holdings Results for Year Ended 31 March 2024
BAI - Full unaudited results to 31 March 2024