Why no carbon tax on petrol?

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I think I know the answer to this one …

Why the government doesn’t want to put a carbon tax on petrol and most other road transport fuels.

Here’s my theory.

The reason the government doesn’t want to put a carbon tax on fuel at the pump is this …

THEY FEEL GUILTY!

Why do they feel guilty?  Good question.

It’s very simple, very basic.

And, yes, they should feel guilty.

You see, the government is already “carbon taxing” (it’s now a verb!) us at the pump!

That’s right.  They’ve already got a carbon tax in place.

Now, for the government to add a carbon tax on top of a carbon tax would make them feel too guilty.

How do you figure?

For every litre of petrol you pump into your vehicle, you pump 38 cents into the government coffers.  Yes, every litre of petrol attracts a 38 cent government tax.

The government calls this an “excise” tax.  I prefer to call it a carbon tax.

After all, isn’t it an artificial increasing in the price of fuel?

How well has this artificial increase worked to get people onto alternate fuel sources?

That’s right, not very well.

Look a little closer …

Let’s look a little closer at this existing “carbon tax.”

First of all, it shouldn’t be there.

With the introduction of the GST, this fuel excise tax should be gone.  But it’s not.  It stayed  in place.  The government did make one concession; this tax is fixed.  It’s no longer indexed to inflation.  I suppose the government calls this a tax concession or worse yet they probably call it a “tax break!”

Next, this existing fuel carbon tax is taxed!

That’s right, the government also charges GST on petrol.  And, the GST calculation includes this hidden excise (carbon) tax.  So, this excise tax is taxed.  Ain’t it great?

Finally, where is the money spent?

Where does the government spend the money it takes in from this carbon tax?

Do they use it for roadworks and such?  Yes.  About 9 cents out of every litre.  (source: aant.com)

What about the other 29 cents?

What does the government do with the money?

What does the government do with this extra 29 cents per litre?

Do they use it to promote cleaner energy sources?

Do they use it for research and development into renewable energy technologies?

Do they give it back to the motorists paying the artificially high petrol prices?

If not, then I have a basic question …

WHY NOT?

If the government doesn’t do this now under our current and existing carbon tax, what makes you think they’ll do it under a new one?

Over to you.  Why no carbon tax on petrol?  What’s your theory?

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