Western Australian motorists are being overtaxed to the tune of $2 billion by governments state and federal, according to a report released today by RAC WA.
Western Australian motorists are being overtaxed to the tune of $2 billion by governments state and federal, according to a report released today by the Royal Automobile Club of WA.
ACIL Allen Consulting authored the report, which found the state’s motorists would pay $5 billion in tax to both levels of government in the 12 months to June 2019.
Only $3 billion would be spent directly on motorists, for example through road construction.
ACIL Allen estimates that about $1.2 billion of the $2 billion excess collected was used for public transport services.
On that basis, motorists pay almost the entirety of the subsidies received for operations of the Public Transport Authority, the report indicated.
ACIL estimates the Commonwealth will collect $2.9 billion in the 2019 financial year, with diesel excise and GST collections on fuel and car sales the main contributors.
Excise on petrol, a tax on luxury cars and customs duties on vehicles together only raised $756 million.
After adjusting for other payments including for public transport investment, the federal government was left with about $952 million of extra cash.
But that estimate is made on the basis that revenue streams such as GST on vehicle sales should automatically be pumped into motoring projects, rather than distributed directly to the state government through the Commonwealth Grants Commission.
The state government collected $1.4 billion directly, with 69 per cent coming from vehicle registration and a further $360 million from vehicle licence duties.
About half remained in consolidated revenue and effectively paid for public transport subsidies, ACIL Allen said.
One unclear element from the report was local government revenue, with the numbers indicating $690 million was raised in WA through fees, without a further breakdown as to how the analysts arrived at the figure.
Funding needs
Ahead of next week’s federal budget, RAC had a wishlist of nearly $10 billion of potential projects in WA, headlined by a heavy rail tunnel direct to Morley and two light rail lines.
The Morley tunnel would cost $2.8 billion, and follows a route similar to that proposed by the previous state government, with a potential extension onward to Ellenbrook.
A further line would later be built from Morley to link up north of Joondalup.
The two light rail projects include the 'knowledge arc', which would link the CBD to the University of Western Australia and Curtin University, at a cost of $1.8 billion, and a $1.1 billion line to Scarborough and Stirling via Glendalough.
Other projects on the list include $1 billion for rail optimisation, nearly $1.3 billion for grade separations and level crossing removals, and $800 million for a safer roads investment plan and federal blackspot program.
