SA Budget 2020: Electric car owners face annual road charge
Electric vehicle owners will be required to pay an annual road user charge from July as part of a scheme aimed at securing road maintenance funding during the transition to new technologies.
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Electric vehicle owners will pay an annual road user charge as part of a new scheme to be introduced next year, while plans to charge event organisers for police presence at major events have been scrapped.
Most other fees and charges, including drivers’ licence renewals and public transport fares, were increased in July this year by a standard indexation rate of around 2 per cent.
The State Government’s earlier decision to slash water rates through a reduction in the value of SA Water’s regulated asset base is expected to save households $200 a year on their water bills this year but will result in a cut to government revenue of around $214m.
Together with previously announced cuts to the Emergency Services Levy and CTP insurance, and efforts to lower electricity prices, the Government claims the savings outweigh last year’s hikes to vehicle registration costs, licence renewals and expiation fees.
“All of these reforms mean that a two-child, two-car household will be saving more than $800 per year since the election just two years ago,” Treasurer Rob Lucas said.
“The size of these household savings swamp the impact of some increases in fees and charges announced last year.”
The electric vehicle road user charge will be introduced in July next year, and will comprise a fixed component similar to annual motor vehicle registration, and a variable charge based on distance travelled.
“Electric vehicles do not attract fuel excise and therefore make a lower contribution to the cost of maintaining our road networks,” Mr Lucas said.
“The proposed road user charge will ensure road maintenance funding is sustainable into the future. The government is consulting with other jurisdictions about the details of the proposed road user charge.”
Mr Lucas dismissed claims the measure would act as a disincentive to the take up of electric vehicles, and expected other states to implement similar policies in response to the shift to new technologies.
“As more jurisdictions implement similar policies we’re pretty confident that ultimately it’s a no-brainer.”
Less than $1m per year is expected to be raised by the new charge each year.
Meanwhile the decision to scrap plans to charge event organisers for SAPOL presence at major events follows opposition from organisers of the Royal Adelaide Show, Adelaide Fringe and other major events, as well as Business SA and the Opposition.
The “user pays” scheme was expected to be introduced this financial year and was predicted to contribute $1m to government coffers each year.
Other increases to fees and charges already implemented in July, include motor vehicle registration and public transport increases which added 10c to the cost of a single trip ticket and 7c onto a Metrocard single fare.
The cost of a five-year licence renewal increased by about $5.
Fees charged for public hospital services provided to admitted patients who are not eligible for Medicare - primarily international visitors - were also increased in July “to better reflect the actual costs of delivering the service”.
The measure is expected to increase government revenue by around $4.7m each year.
The Public Trustee will increase its investment management fee from 1 per cent to 1.2 per cent from July next year.
Originally published as SA Budget 2020: Electric car owners face annual road charge