In the middle of a cost of living crisis, today’s move to hike the taxes on utes and other, so-called, gas guzzler vehicles is a kick in the guts to provincial and rural communities who already have it tough post-cyclone Gabrielle, says the Taxpayers’ Union. It’s calling for Hawke’s Bay, East Coast, Northland, and the Coromandel to be spared from the Ute Tax to allow those needing to replace work vehicles to do so affordably.

“There still not a practical electric ute,” points out Jordan Williams, a spokesperson for the Taxpayers’ Union. “That means those importing a second hand ute to replace one of the hundreds lost due to the flooding, are now forced to pay even more for it. This is a kick in the guts to those who can least afford it, for the sake of politicians and the urban elite who are eyeing up a Tesla.”

“Carmel Sepuloni demonstrated the fundamental flaw in the policy this morning when she told Mike Hosking that the policy is about reducing emissions and climate change. This is demonstrably false. While the clean car discount does encourage low emissions vehicles, therefore reducing transport emissions, because of our ‘cap and trade’ emissions trading scheme, those emissions simply become available for cheaper emitters elsewhere. This ‘waterbed effect’ means that the Ute Tax and Clean Car Discount Scheme does nothing to reduce overall emissions, or climate change. The emperor has no clothes.”

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