Big luxury utes are exempt from Australia's Luxury Car Tax. Source: Adobe Stock.
article-article-body
Australian taxpayers lost out on a quarter of a billion dollars in revenue in 2023 thanks to a generous tax loophole for “big, dumb” American-style utes, a report says.
Large utes such as those made by Chevrolet and Ram are being subsidised as they are exempt from the Luxury Car Tax while contributing to higher carbon emissions, road damage and serious safety concerns, according to a report by think tank the Australia Institute.
The “loophole” cost the Australian public $250 million in foregone revenue in 2023 alone, while other imported cars valued above $81,000 continue to be subject to the tax.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Handpicked for you
Vehicle size inflation is bringing US-style “monster trucks” onto Australian roads
The price of the cheapest new RAM is $91,000, and they go up to $180,000, but they are proving very popular.
Tax breaks see SMEs burn $13bn on fuel for ‘dumb’ dual-cab utes and SUVs
Australian small business owners are buying "big, dumb cars" and spending $13 billion more on petrol because SUVs attract overly generous tax breaks, according to a new report.
COMMENTS
SmartCompany is committed to hosting lively discussions. Help us keep the conversation useful, interesting and welcoming. We aim to publish comments quickly in the interest of promoting robust conversation, but we’re a small team and we deploy filters to protect against legal risk. Occasionally your comment may be held up while it is being reviewed, but we’re working as fast as we can to keep the conversation rolling.
The SmartCompany comment section is members-only content. Please subscribe to leave a comment.
The SmartCompany comment section is members-only content. Please login to leave a comment.