MOTOR TAXATION.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXVI, Issue 20234, 19 April 1929, Page 12

MOTOR TAXATION.

RELIEF FOR HEAVY TRAFFIC.

VIEWS OF LOCAL BODIES.

THE HIGHWAYS BOARD'S FUNDS

The endeavours being made by I lie owners of commercial vehicles to bring about tlio abolition of the special taxation on heavy traffic are not likely to meet with serious opposition outside I lie ranks of the autoniobilo associations. The Government has already expressed sympathy with their point of view, and has indicated that some measure of relief at least will be afforded them, while the other interested parties, the combined local bodies, are prepared lo withdraw their objection if they are compensated for loss of revenue.

Tho Mayor, Mr. G. Baildon, commenting yesterday on the proposals of the New Zealand Master Carriers' Federation for tho abolition of the tax, said that he did not feel inclined to make any definite statement concerning tho City Council's attitude, in view of the fact that the matter would be fully debated at a conference shortly to be called by tho Government, at which the federation, the local bodies, tho automobile associations and tho Main Highways Board would be represented. The existing legislation provided that the local authorities should collect tho tax and allocato it among themselves for the maintenance of roads. In this way tho city was receiving annually ,i vcrv substantial revenue which it could not possibly afford to dispense with. Petrol Tax Contributions. If the Government consented to (he request of the Master Carriers' federation and made good the loss of revenue to tho local bodies bv increased contributions from the petrol tax there could be no objection. However, (ho principle that tho users of roads should pay for roads still held good, and it was his personal opinion that the adopted principle of heavy traffic taxation was a fair one.

Tho Mayor of Mount Eden, Mr. E. 11. Potter, said that in recent years the local bodies had been obliged to spend tremendous sums or road construction, and it was essential that revenue should be forthcoming from some source or other to meet interest payments and depreciation. Ileavv traffic was contributing materially toward this end, but personally he was of tho opinion that it would bo a fair thing to meet tho owners of heavy vehicles to tho extent of reducing heavy traffic licence fees by about 50 per cent., piovided that the Government would incrcaso from 8 per cent, to 20 or 25 per cent, tho contributions from tho petrol tax at present received by tho local bodies. At present, only boroughs with a population of 6000 and over were receiving any monov from the petrol tax, but town boards and other local authorities should also bo entitled to consideration. Cost of Permanent Roads. "While boroughs and counties cannot possibly afford to lose the revenue they aro at present receiving from heavy traffic licenco fees, we shall be only too pleased to assist those responsible for transport provided tho loss is made up from the petrol tax," said Mr. Potter. "Maintenance, costs on roads in the Mount Edpo borough have been reduced by some thousands of pounds annually, but to achieve that end we bad to spend large sums onpermnnent construction* resurfacing and putting down concreto in many cases "We must have the revenue from the users of the roads to meet the charges on the capital outlay. At the. present time the Main Highways Board is contributing nothing to the main arterial roads in the cities and boroughs. In the circumstances we are entitled to a large percentage of the board's funds to assist in the maintenance of those, roads." Case ior the Lorry-owners.

The representations made to the Goveminent, on behalf of the Master Carriers' Federation were explained by Mr. W. A. Phillips, piesidetit of the local Master Carriers' Association. He said the present scale of licence fees (£36 for a 3-ton vehicle and £75 for a 5-ton vehicle) were falling very heavily on the owners of motor-lorries, and amounted to thousands of pounds annually in the case of firms employing tleets of vehicles. The idea that motor-lorries caused excessive road damage was purely hypothetical. The predominance of last-mov-ing light traffic was doing far more harm than the small amount of slow-moving heavy traffic, _ especially on roads that were not, properly maintained, yet the lorry-owner was called upon to pay nor only the ordinary licence fee and petrol tax payable by tlie car-owner, but also an immensely greater special heavy traffic fee as well. As a matter of tact the petrol tax alone was a fair proportional tax. for whereas the fast-moving car did 20 to 25 miles to the gallon, with an average, perhaps, of 15 miles to the gallon, the heavy motor-truck averaged only 4 miles to (he gallon, and therefore paid four times as much in (ax as the average car. It, was true (hat a rebate of tax war, allowed if a (ruck was laid up for 30 days or longer, but there were slack times when a truck might be kept off the road for, say, a week or ton days, in which case no tclief was allowed. Those (inns which were forced to employ a surplus plant to cope with rush periods suffered particularly severely in this respect.

Highways Funds Sufficient

'We think the Government is getting sufficient revenue from the petrol tax at present to defray all original road charges, but it it, can be shown that by giving us substantial relief the expense of the upkeep of roads cannot lie adequately met, then we would rather see an increase in the petrol tax, which, in our opinion, is the most, equitable form of motor taxation," Mr. Phillips said. "The Main Highways Board is spending a lot of money on the upkeep of roads, of which motor-lorries make no use whatever. "We maintain that the City Council should receive a greater proportion of the petrol tax revenue than it is at present receiving, because, 1 should say, at least 60 per cent, of the heavy traffic motors in use are plying in the city and neighbouring boroughs, and never go out of them, and for the roads they actually use the public is paying in the ordinary course oi events out of rates. The City Council and (lie boroughs have built good roads, and they should receive a more substan tial slice of the petrol tax than they do."