Electricity consumption-based levy a fairer method of revenue collection

Global Electric Transport (GET), a leading Victorian-based provider and installer of affordable electric vehicle charging stations, has welcomed the Victorian Government’s decision to impose a modest levy on EV drivers to maintain roads, but has questioned the distance-based collection method proposed.

Today, the government announced it is introducing legislation into Parliament for a new charging framework to ensure all motorists pay for investments in the Victorian road network. Under the legislation, a 2.5 cent/km charge will apply to electric and other zero emission vehicles, including hydrogen vehicles, and a 2.0 cent/km charge will apply to plug-in hybrid-electric vehicles.

“A problem with the method proposed by the Victorian Government is how it is collected which, because it is based on distance travelled, will require an antiquated logbook form of record-keeping to calculate the levy,” said GET Director and Founder Srecko Lorbek.

“Petrol and diesel vehicle drivers pay their equivalent road user charge via a fuel levy paid at the pump directly to the relevant jurisdictions and this is the model electric vehicle drivers should also be subject to,” he added.

GET has built a proprietary app to facilitate EV charging transactions that is unique because it calculates the energy used by each charger and pays a proportion of the total charging cost to be paid directly to state or commonwealth jurisdictions in the way current fuel levies are collected at the pump.

“We believe this is a fairer method of revenue collection because it is based on energy used, and most importantly eliminates reliance on logbooks, which are significantly less accurate, easily rorted, and rely on an army of public servants to verify them and collect the revenue,” said GET CEO Harry Hamann.

“In fact, the compliance costs would likely outweigh the revenue collected whereas our system enables immediate payment to whomever is collecting the levy.” Hamann said the Victorian Government’s commitment to roll-out charging stations would stimulate electric vehicle sales because of the confidence it would create among buyers. “The major barrier to EV sales is consumer concern around the lack of reliable and available charging stations. Building affordable rapid charging stations and installing them in new and existing commercial and residential sites like shopping malls, car parks and apartment buildings will do more to boost EV sales than the miniscule financial relief of waiving an equivalent fuel levy on EV drivers,” he said.