Calls grow for fuel excise to be cut for millions of Aussie motorists as drivers feel the pinch at the bowser
- The call for a reduction in fuel taxes is growing
- Motorists currently pay 48.8 cents per liter in excise duty
Opposition Leader Peter Dutton has opened the door to coalition support for a temporary fuel duty cut as Australian motorists face rising bowser prices.
The fuel excise tax is a tax levied by the federal government on gasoline and diesel purchased from the Bowser. Motorists currently pay 48.8 cents in excise duty for every liter of fuel they buy.
In an interview on Sky News on Sunday, the opposition leader was asked whether the coalition would consider backing moves to cut fuel duties amid warnings that record petrol prices could rise further as the war between Israel and Hamas escalated.
“There could be temporary relief through spending cuts,” Dutton said in a move that contradicts the Coalition’s pledge to restore the budget.
Brent crude oil prices rose above $90 a barrel on Sunday as supply cuts from Saudi Arabia and Russia and the outbreak of war between Israel and Hamas pushed prices higher (stock image)
While admitting that the measure was costly, the opposition leader stated that there are “periods when (a reduction in excise duties) is effective.”
According to an analysis by the Australian Institute of Petroleum, the price of unleaded petrol has been hovering around $2 per liter for weeks.
New inflation figures released on Wednesday, which exceeded economists’ expectations, showed fuel prices rose 7.2 percent in the September quarter.
Brent crude oil prices rose above $90 a barrel on Sunday as supply cuts from Saudi Arabia and Russia and the outbreak of war between Israel and Hamas pushed prices higher.
The government is under increasing pressure to consider a fuel duty cut, but has so far ruled out temporary relief.
Opposition Leader Peter Dutton has opened the door to coalition support for a temporary fuel duty cut as Australian motorists face rising bowser prices
“We will consider what measures are necessary in our economy, consistent with our really strict approach to fiscal discipline, but it is not something that we are doing,” Treasurer Jim Chalmers told reporters on Wednesday.
Last September, the Albanian government allowed a 22 cent cut in gasoline taxes to expire, arguing that a further extension would cost the federal budget as much as $3 billion in just six months.
A temporary six-month cut in excise duties was announced in the March 2022 budget by the former Morrison government, as part of a pre-election sweetener.