Australia-wide, you can now buy/drive an electric vehicle without paying import tariffs or fringe benefits tax (FBT).
New South Wales are offering a $3000 rebate for the first 25,000 new battery electric and hydrogen fuel cell vehicles with a dutiable value of less than $68,750.
Victoria is also offering a $3000 rebate for zero emission vehicles (ZEVs) with a dutiable value of less than $68,750.
While there’s every possibility that Labor could go ahead and extend their FBT and import tariff exemptions to other forms of electric-powered vehicles, like buses and bikes, we’ve got to take things one step at a time.
While it seems logical and practical to implement tax exemptions for electric motorbikes, scooters, trucks and so on, we don’t know what Labor has in stock for us on that front.
Labor’s EV tax break is actually already in effect. The Electric Car Discount came into effect at the start of the new financial year on July 1, 2022. The Discount is guaranteed to go ahead for three years when it will be reviewed, in view of EV uptake.
In the past, many businesses have been put off providing their staff with personal vehicles. This, no doubt, is thanks to the 47% fringe benefits tax – which, as you know, can be handballed to employees themselves and taken out of their salary. But that’s changing, big time, and it will now get a whole lot easier to negotiate an electric vehicle included in your work benefits.
The ALP is delivering electric vehicle discounts through two main ways: import tariff exemptions and fringe benefits tax (FBT) exemptions. Imported cars come with a 5% import tariff. But Labor has scrapped this tax for certain electric vehicles, making electric cars cheaper. Some popular models include the Nissan Leaf, MG’s ZS EV and the Hyundai Ioniq 5 which you can expect to save thousands on, thanks to the scrapping of import tariffs.
Labor has scrapped import tariffs for certain models of electric vehicles, making electric cars more affordable. If you want an electric vehicle as an employment benefit, your wishes are Labor’s command as they’ve scrapped FBT for electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids. You can expect to save thousands of dollars thanks to Labor’s electric car discount.
