The trucking industry will oppose the Government’s decision to increase the stamp duty burden on operators by closing the Federal Interstate Registration Scheme, the Chair of the Australian Trucking Association, Geoff Crouch, said today.
“The Government has today introduced legislation to parliament to abolish FIRS, which will remove stamp duty exemptions and increase the tax burden on the hardworking trucking operators who deliver Australia’s interstate trade,” Mr Crouch said.
“While the Government has proposed a one off stamp duty exemption for existing FIRS vehicles, the exemption will not address the ongoing annual costs for operators who would normally register new vehicles in FIRS.
“The Government has estimated that the current FIRS stamp duty exemption saves trucking operators $6.2 million annually.
“Abolishing FIRS amounts to a $6.2 million annual tax increase on new heavy vehicles. As the Prime Minister says, if you increase taxes on investment, you’ll get less investment.
“Stamp duty is a notoriously inefficient tax, and the Government is effectively proposing to increase Australia’s reliance on older heavy vehicles, utilising older safety technologies and older emissions standards.”
Mr Crouch called on the Senate to refer the provisions of the Interstate Road Transport Legislation (Repeal) Bill 2018 to an inquiry.
“The Government hasn’t done, or hasn’t released, any modelling of the economic impact of closing FIRS,” Mr Crouch said.
“They don’t know the impact on the linehaul fleet, which supports Australia’s interstate supply chains.
“The Senate should refer the provisions of the Bill to an inquiry.”
Mr Crouch said that instead of closing FIRS, the Government should boost productivity by using FIRS to set the pace on reforming heavy vehicle standards and road access for high productivity vehicles.
“In the 1990s, FIRS had an important role in boosting productivity and road access for B-doubles for interstate trade,” Mr Crouch said.
“Today, there’s an opportunity for the Government to use FIRS to set the pace on prescribing suitable road networks for high productivity vehicles, which are safer, more productive, and reduce the impacts of trucks on roads and the environment.”
Mr Crouch said the planned National Heavy Vehicle Registration System would not be an effective substitute for FIRS.
“Although it has some welcome features, such as the elimination of truck registration labels, the planned system would not be national and would not address important issues facing trucking operators, such as stamp duty. The time to replace FIRS would be when there is a proper national system that deals with all these issues,” he said.
The ATA made a detailed submission to Government on the need to retain and improve FIRS.
