Petrol tax should be higher, not lower

Henry Cooke writes:

This week showcased the unfortunately strong case for depoliticising political decisions.

First, a group of politicians in Cabinet made a regrettable call that some of them were clearly regretting as they made it – delaying fuel tax hikes, yet again. The political case for putting off fuel taxes going up is strong, especially with the Opposition promising it, but Transport Minister Chris Bishop made quite clear that the economic case does not stack up, given construction costs have risen 45% since 2020, while fuel taxes have stayed flat, meaning every bit of politically untouchable road spending has come instead from general taxation or the bond markets. It would benefit these politicians greatly if these decisions could be made by someone else, with Cabinet only intervening to stop rises, rather than create them in the first place.

This would be sensible. The failure to lift fuel taxes means that rather than road users pay for roads, they are being subsidised out of general taxation. I am a believer in user pays. I absolutely understand though the politics of not wanting to increase petrol tax when petrol prices are so high, due to the Middle East conflict.

Ideally petrol tax (and road user charges) should adjust automatically to match road/transport spending. I am quite happy to pay more, if it means we get roads like Transmission Gully, Kapiti Expressway etc.