Australian driver licensing and vehicle registration agency VicRoads reportedly deregistered 243 electric vehicles as owners failed to adhere to the imposed road-user tax in July 2021, per news outlet AAP.
Victoria’s road-user tax
It is worth noting that the High Court is currently evaluating the road-user tax dispute, as many motorists and organizations are against it. In retrospect, the Victorian Government implemented it in 2021 as a measure to make up for lost revenue from the fuel excise.
Apparently, the High Court case represents the biggest constitutional conflict in the past 25 years. Australian states and territories banded together to oppose the federal government for control over who is in charge of tax collection.
South Australia withdrew its proposed road-user tax last month, which was scheduled to take effect in July 2027. Nonetheless, it continued to support Victoria in its fight regarding the road-user tax.
How much do the state of Victoria charge EV and PHEV owners?
Victoria’s Zero- and Low-Emissions Vehicle (ZLEV) tax charges battery electric vehicle owners with 2.6 cents per kilometer driven. Meanwhile, plug-in hybrid vehicle owners’ charge drops to 2.1 cents per kilometer, even if they use the internal combustion engine powertrain during those times.
Simply put, the road-user tax requires EV owners to pay a total of $390 fee per year, assuming that they cover 15,000 km. On the other hand, PHEV drivers are mandated to pay both the state-wide ZLEV levy and the federal fuel excise tax.
Suspension and cancellation of vehicle registration
The report claims that some owners were unaware that their vehicles had been deregistered. However, the total number of registered cars represented less than 1% of all qualified vehicles in Victoria.
Consequently, BEV and PHEV owners were given 13 days from when authorities requested to provide a photo of their odometer reading. If they fail to submit the required photo, the vehicle registration is suspended after 56 days and canceled after 78 days.
Victoria is now the only Australian state that imposes the pay-per-kilometer tax. It is worth noting that these kinds of taxes can potentially impede EV adoption in the state as buyers will be discouraged by the fees they would pay. That said, the government must implement tax credits and incentives to further boost EV sales instead of doing the opposite.
