Comments on: Protecting the Poor from the Media’s Gas Tax

By: SeanReynoldsNZ

SeanReynoldsNZ — Sat, 03 Jan 2009 20:54:05 +0000

Kia Ora Kirbys,

Good point! For NZers, they get slammed in several ways.

First of all, because the price of oil is in US dollars, the collapse of the value of the NZ dollar, which was strong against the US dollar due to NZ having the highest interest rates in the OECD, meant that oil got more expensive in NZ dollars.

Second, about 50% of what you pay at the pump is excise duty,

Third, you pay tax on tax in New Zealand as GST is charged on the price of petrol, including the excise tax part.

Unfortunately a similar scenario happens here in Australia, although the price does vary depending on which state you are in. Here in New South Wales (The state with Sydney as the capital), the State Government charges additional fuel taxes to the Commonwealth Government, whereas in Queensland (State capital being Brisbane), the State Government subsidises the Commonwealth Governments petrol tax, leading to a significant reduction in price at the pump.

Of course, I don’t mind paying taxes for legitimate uses such as building new transport infrastructure (including road and rail – as a road user I benefit from a public transport system that clears the roads of trucks and cars), but not for election bribes, carbon credits, or other dodgy scams.

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By: kirbys

kirbys — Sat, 03 Jan 2009 04:24:44 +0000

If we don’t complain, then we get the outrageous gas taxes to which NZ and most Europeans are subjected!

By: SeanReynoldsNZ

SeanReynoldsNZ — Fri, 02 Jan 2009 23:19:09 +0000

You Americans complain troo much about gas prices.

During 2008, the price of fuel in New Zealand peaked at NZ$2.20 per litre, which with an exchange rate of NZ$1.00 = US$0.75 at the time worked out at US$6.27 per gallon. For me to fill up my 1995 Nissan Pulsar 3-door hatchback with an average fill of 42 litres, this would cost me NZ$92.40, or about 13% of my weekly net income of $692. By the way, I was on the rich side of earnings compared to most households in New Zealand. The average Kiwi Household earns more like NZ$40,000 per annum, or NZ$32,000 per annum after tax. With the price of petrol in NZ sitting now at NZ$1.30 per litre, it would cost more like NZ$54.60 to fill up the car. This still amounts to a lot for a lot of NZers.

My point is, your petrol is cheap. Ours is expensive!

Little wonder then that I moved to Australia, like about 45,000 other NZers do every year. My income went up significantly, and it costs slightly less to live here.

By: plowshare

plowshare — Fri, 02 Jan 2009 16:45:00 +0000

Obama got it right this time. Let’s hope he moderates his stance on abortion.

By: goral

goral — Fri, 02 Jan 2009 16:36:06 +0000

“…working class Americans, the people progressives are supposed to be looking out for.”
I know Mr. Bradley that that’s a rhetorical statement which needs no explanation.
Progressive, a kinder cousin than the other family members – liberals, elitists, socialists and communists, all of them revolutionaries.
Revolutionaries are concerned with only one thing – progression in the direction of the revolution.

Technology, affordability and working class are not the issues.
Tom Brokaw will go the way of Walter Cronkite.
And that’s the way it is this second day of the new year.
Happy New Year to CE and all it’s very sensible, spiritual and non-progressive contributors.