Auckland petrol tax will be in place by mid-next year
Auckland Council plans to use the tax revenue to help pay for infrastructure.
Aucklanders will be paying a 10c a litre fuel tax by July 1 next year, according to the Minister of Transport.
A spokesman for Phil Twyford says the government is hoping to have the levy working by then, in part because it’s close to the beginning of the new financial year.
Auckland mayor Phil Goff will outline his proposals for the council’s 10-year budget next Thursday – it’s likely more details of the fuel tax will be addressed then.
Auckland Council has requested the revenue from the tax be used to help fund the city’s infrastructure.
Mr Goff says light rail to the airport will cost roughly $2.5-2.8 billion and to the west will cost roughly $300 million more than the alternative cost of a busway.
“With the regional fuel tax, the council can contribute – over a 10 year period – between $1.2-1.45 billion to the light rail projects.”
The Automobile Association's principal adviser for infrastructure, Barney Irvine, says the organisation was comfortable with the proposal when it was proposed by Labour.
“We don’t have any principled opposition to it and we think it should be considered one of the tools Auckland needs to bridge the funding gap.”
The AA says it is a good time to be implementing the tax as petrol prices in Auckland are lower than most places in New Zealand.
“[There is] a lower range of prices across the Auckland market – sometimes prices vary by 10, 20, 30c per litre depending where you are,” AA petrol prices spokesman Mark Stockdale says.
Jason Walls
Tue, 21 Nov 2017
Tue, 21 Nov 2017
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Auckland petrol tax will be in place by mid-next year
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