8 AUGUST 2018

$3.9 million in taxpayer funding for businesses to invest in electric vehicles is simply corporate welfare, says the New Zealand Taxpayers’ Union.

Taxpayers’ Union Executive Director Jordan Williams says, “It’s normal for companies to invest their own money in electric vehicles for efficiency and positive PR. So why are taxpayers funding these expenses for the likes of Jucy Rentals, Countdown Supermarkets, and cruise ship tour operators?”

“When I go to Auckland I hire an electric car from Europecar, and I love it. But why the heck should my rental car be subsidised by taxpayers, most of whom probably couldn’t afford it themselves?”

“The Low Emission Vehicles Contestable Fund is simply a pot of taxpayer money that private companies can leech off to subsidise vehicle upgrades. This corporate welfare started under the previous government. Minister Megan Woods was supposed to scrap this particular gravy pot. Instead, she's drunk the Kool-Aid and is doshing out other people's money to the undeserving.”

ENDS

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