Truckies and heavy-vehicle users will have a tougher time
escaping road user charges from August after a new law passed
yesterday.
The Road User Charges Bill passed its final reading in
Parliament by 113 votes to eight, and will come into force on
August 1.
Under the new law, the charges system will change from one
based on actual gross weight, as specified by vehicle owners,
to one based on maximum permissible on-road weight.
Owners of vehicles weighing more than 3500kg will be charged
based on their vehicles' maximum weight - rather than the
current system which is based on the actual gross weight of
the loads carried.
Transport Minister Gerry Brownlee said provisions in the
legislation, including changing the definition of licence
weights, removing a time licence system and simplifying the
list of exempted vehicles, would reduce compliance costs for
businesses and simplify administration processes for industry
and government.
The changes would also tackle the evasion of road user
charges (RUC), which was estimated to cost $30 million a
year.
"Currently, honest payers of RUC are subsidising those who
evade payment,'' Mr Brownlee said.
"These legislative changes remove a number of evasion
opportunities and encourage timely payment, making the system
fairer for all.''
While New Zealand First was the only party to oppose the
bill, other parties have expressed some concern about certain
aspects of the legislation.
Labour's Annette King had reservations about the
arbitrariness of a rule under which operators paid a charge
regardless of whether they were carrying a full load or not.
She said it would disproportionately affect trucks which
carried light loads but whose drivers would be forced to pay
charges for their maximum capacity.
The actual charges operators will face have not been set, but
National MP Michael Woodhouse said the Ministry of Transport
had worked closely with the industry to make sure it was
fair.
"A gross weight system will be satisfactory to all but people
who carry feathers or Pink Batts regularly in their trucks,''
he said.
He said there may be an issue for some trucks which were
never close to their maximum load, but they were at the
margins.
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