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The role of motor vehicle taxes in shaping Australia’s oil policy
Published on 01 Oct 13 by "THE TAX SPECIALIST" JOURNAL ARTICLE
Despite Australia being heavily reliant on foreign oil, with some 80% of transport fuel coming from overseas crude oil or imported fuel, it is surprising that it does not currently have a well-developed oil policy. This article makes a case for why Australia should have a well-developed oil policy and argues that the policy should recognise and respond to Australia’s high reliance on overseas crude oil or imported fuel. In this context, the article critically examines the role of motor vehicle taxes in shaping Australia’s oil policy. It is submitted that the current motor vehicle taxes in Australia are not based on sound environmental tax principles, namely the precautionary principle and the polluter-pays principle, and therefore there is a need to reform motor vehicle taxes in Australia.
It is also submitted that existing motor vehicle taxes are not high enough to effect behavioural changes on motorists’ choice of motor vehicle and have little impact on the sustainability of oil as these taxes were mainly designed with the specific objective of raising revenue. Consequently, existing motor vehicle taxes have not halted the increase in demand for larger cars, including sports utility vehicles that consume more oil. Against this background, the article proposes a framework for motor vehicle tax reform and then offers some concluding comments.
Author profiles
Prafula Pearce CTA
Prafula is a Senior Lecturer at the Curtin Law School, Department of Business Law, Curtin University, where she has been lecturing since 1996, having previously worked 20 years in the tax profession in Australia and the United Kingdom. Her teaching and research interests are broadly in taxation law, including tax policy and corporations law. She has published widely in many areas of taxation, both nationally and internationally. Her current interest lies in environmental taxation relating to passenger motor vehicles and oil, the area of her PhD thesis entitled, Using tax and regulatory measures to reform choice and usage of motor vehicles for personal transportation in Australia for the sustainability of oil. - Current at 29 May 2019
Prof Dale Pinto CTA-Life
Dale is currently Professor of Taxation Law in the Curtin Law School as well as being the Chair of the Academic Board at Curtin University. Dale is the author and co-author of numerous books, refereed articles and national and international conference papers and sits on the editorial board of a number of peer-reviewed journals as well as being the Editor-in-Chief of several refereed journals. He is a member of the Board of CPA Australia and is also a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Law as well as being a Chartered Accountant, Chartered Tax Adviser and Honorary Life Member of the Tax Institute. He is also a Life Member of the Australasian Tax Teachers Association and the Australasian Law Teachers Association. Dale has been a registered tax agent for more than 25 years and was appointed by the Assistant Treasurer as one of the inaugural members of the National Tax Practitioners Board. He is a current member of the Board of Taxation’s Special Advisory Panel and the ATO’s Tax Technical Panel as well as the Chamber of Commerce and Industry’s Economic Development Forum in WA. Dale is a member of the Tertiary Education and Quality Standards Agency (TEQSA) Expert Panel in Accounting, Taxation and International Education.
- Current at
13 August 2019
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