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Taxes and the Emissions Trading Scheme make up 56 per cent of the price of fuel nationally and 62 per cent of the price of fuel in Auckland, which has an additional regional fuel tax.
Motorists now pay more in fuel taxes than they do on the fuel itself, following an increase in diesel and petrol excise taxes last month.
Motorists are paying $1.23 per litre in tax in Auckland, and $1.12 in Kaipara. The average fuel price for 91 unleaded petrol in New Zealand, including taxes, is about $2 a litre.
Fuel tax increased by three and a half cents per litre on July 1. It’s the third year in a row that the tax has increased, but the Government has ruled out any further increases to the fuel tax for the next three years.
Road user charges for diesel vehicles also increased from $71 to $76 per 1000 kilometres.
The impact of tax and user charges hikes has been offset by lower fuel prices globally due to Covid-19.
Most of the fuel tax, and the source of the increase, is the 70.024 cent levy designated for the National Land Transport Fund (NLTF). Money from the fund must be spent on transport projects.
The Automobile Association has renewed its calls to the government to remove GST from fuel tax. AA spokesperson Mark Stockdale says it is unfair to have a tax on a tax, which represents an additional cost of 11 cents per litre for motorists.
The NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) forecasts it will spend $460 million from the NLTF in Northland between 2018 and 2021, including $23 million on the Matakohe bridges. In the Auckland region, the NZTA forecasts it will spend $5.7 billion over the same period, including $46 million on the Matakana link road and $33 million for Dome Valley safety improvements. Other spending includes $67 million for the Northern Pathway – a cycle and walking path across the Auckland Harbour Bridge formerly known as SkyPath, and $119 million for a new electrified rail line in south Auckland.
Meanwhile, Auckland Transport (AT) has revealed how Auckland Council’s controversial 10 cents per litre regional fuel tax is spent.
The money has been allocated to 14 regional projects, including improvements to downtown Auckland bus routes, the downtown ferry terminal, electric trains and the Penlink motorway on the Hibiscus Coast.
AT has also indicated money will be allocated towards the “growth-related transport sector” in Warkworth in the second half of the decade.
A full breakdown on how fuel tax money is spent can be found on the NZTA and AT websites.
nzta.govt.nz/planning-and-investment/national-land-transport-programme/2018-21-nltp/regional-summaries/
at.govt.nz/about-us/transport-plans-strategies/regional-fuel-tax/
