New Zealand: Fuel Tax to be Introduced to Auckland
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Thursday, 09 October 2008 |
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Aucklanders will be paying more at the petrol station from next year, as the Government approves the regional fuel tax scheme.
From July 2009, two cents per litre will be added to the price of a
litre of petrol and diesel. That will increase to five cents a litre
from July 2010 and 9.5 cents by July 2011.
Transport Minister Annette King says the fund will go towards various
Auckland transport projects including the electrification of the rail
system.
Other projects which will get the green light include the ferry
terminals, developing an integrated public transport ticketing system
and construction of a new road linking the Whangaparaoa Peninsula to
State Highway 1.
The levy is expected to raise around $110 million a year, once the full
9.5 cents is being collected. Ms King says the levy is an additional
funding tool available to regions for transport projects identified as
high priority, but that will not reasonably be funded from any other
source within the timeframe required.
"The Government has already forecast to provide more than $1 billion in
Auckland land transport infrastructure this year, but this levy will
see other high priority transport projects of the Auckland region
realised much faster than they could have been otherwise."
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