The Auckland Ratepayers’ Alliance (ARA) is slamming Mayor Wayne Brown’s congestion charge proposal, denouncing it as a revenue grab if fuel excise taxes aren’t reduced by an equivalent amount.

ARA Spokesperson, Jordan Williams, said:

“Adding a congestion charge will simply impose another tax on already struggling families, a move that will be especially punishing for those with fixed work hours or with school children.

“Any attempt to frame this as a tax switch with the Regional Fuel Tax is laughable. That tax would be unnecessary if Auckland Transport focused on spending its money on maintaining roads, rather than on backroom bureaucrats and ideological projects.

“The Regional Fuel Tax is already slated to be scrapped; the consideration of a tax switch should occur only after that change has been implemented.

“The purpose of a congestion charge is to shift more road use to off-peak times. If this is Mayor Brown’s goal, he must ensure that the central government reduces fuel excise to avoid punishing those without alternatives.”

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