Have your say on RUC plan
A last-minute call has been made for submissions on the government’s plans to introduce road user charges (RUC) on electric vehicles from the beginning of next month.
Simeon Brown, Minister of Transport, confirmed in January that light battery electric vehicles (BEVs) and plug-in hybrids (PHEVs) will lose their exemption from RUC on April 1.
The move is the first step in the coalition government’s ambition to eventually bring all vehicles into the RUC system.
A bill to amend legislation so owners of BEVs and PHEVs start paying the charges was introduced to Parliament on February 29. It had its first reading on March 5 and went to the transport and infrastructure select committee the same day.
Andy Foster, an NZ First MP and chairman of the committee, is now calling for public submissions on the Road User Charges (Light Electric RUC Vehicles) Amendment Bill. The deadline for feedback is noon on Thursday, March 7.
A notice on the New Zealand Parliament website explains RUC contribute towards the cost of maintaining roads and apply to all vehicles used on New Zealand roads.
“Owners of light electric vehicles (EVs) have been exempt from purchasing RUC licences since 2009 to encourage people to purchase EVs,” it adds.
“The exemption was put in place until EVs reached two per cent of New Zealand’s light vehicle fleet.”
If the bill passes into law, owners of BEVS and PHEVs under 3.5 tonnes would need to buy a RUC licence and display it on their windscreen.
There would be a two-month transition period to allow for people to register their vehicle without being penalised for unpaid charges.
The notice says the bill would amend the Road User Charges Act 2012 to:
• require light EVs to have a RUC licence when the exemption expires on March 31;
• allow for a reduced RUC rate for PHEVs, which, unlike other light EVs, pay fuel excise duty on any petrol purchased and, without a reduced RUC rate, would face higher taxation for their road use;
• exempt very light EVs with a gross vehicle mass of 1,000kg or less from paying RUC.
The bill would also amend the Road User Charges Regulations 2012 to add a new vehicle type for PHEVs and change the Road User Charges (Rates) Regulations 2015 to apply a reduced rate of $53 per 1,000km for such vehicles.
To read the full bill, click here.
