Motoring

Victoria’s electric vehicle tax has been quashed by the High Court

In a win for all electric vehicle consumers the Australian High Court has today thrown out the Victorian tax on EV usage.

At a time when most other governments around the world are actively encouraging consumers to switch to EVs, the Victorian Government instead introduced a tax on EV users in 2021, to match the excise paid by ICE drivers through their fuel excise for road maintenance. This draconian, and frankly tone-deaf tax was also set to be introduced by other states in the coming years.

In breaking news today, the 2.8c/km travelled Victorian EV tax has been deemed unconstitutional as it is an excise which according to the constitution cannot be imposed by states or territories. Although the case was brought against the Victorian government, who argued that it was not an excise but instead a tax on activity, every single other state and territory and their Attorneys General lined up to support the Victorian government in court — we all know why and where it was headed had the tax not been quashed with the NSW and WA already earmarking dates where their similar tax would begin implementation.

In a time where governments should be encouraging people to make the switch to cleaner energy cars the tax was always a strange decision by the Victorian government and was brought in to make up to lost revenue due to less fuel usage. Studies showed that these type of taxes actively discouraged consumers from making the switch to an EV, as have the decrease an many government EV subsidies.

“There is nothing inherently wrong with road user charges, but they should never be calibrated to discourage the take up of electric vehicles,” said Behyad Jafari, CEO the Electric Vehicle Council which lobbies for EVs in Australia.

“Any road user charge scheme should be national and we now look forward to working with the federal government on sensible road funding reform, without singling out drivers who are trying to do the right thing.”

Today has been a win for consumers, the environment and hopefully our planet’s future. Governments need to come up with better ways to raise revenue for road maintenance rather than taxes that actively discourage the uptake of zero emission EVs.

Recent Posts

  • Tech

Corsair announce the Vanguard 96 mechanical gaming keyboards with integrated LCD screen and Elgate Stream Deck

Corsair has announced the new VANGUARD PRO 96 Hall Effect Gaming Keyboard and VANGUARD 96…

1 day ago
  • Tech

Swann announces 2 new cameras in their EVO range

Swann has announced two additional cameras in their popular EVO range. The EVO Wireless 2K…

1 day ago
  • Tech

Anker SOLIX has a new battery-powered portable electric cooler just in time for camping season — the Everfrost 2

Anker SOLIX has announced the Australian launch and availability of the portable electric cooler, the…

1 day ago
  • Tech

Australian pricing announced and pre-orders open for ROG Xbox Ally and ROG Xbox Ally X

After announcing the new ROG Xbox Ally and ROG Xbox Ally X gaming handhelds back…

1 day ago
  • Product News

Samsung Launches Expanded Galaxy Line-Up in Australia covering wearables, phones and tablets

Samsung has announced a new suite of devices heading to Australia from today, expanding their…

1 day ago
  • Tech

Samsung Galaxy S25 FE Review: A good phone at the right price

Samsung recently announced the new Galaxy S25 FE ahead of IFA, bringing a new more…

1 day ago