Why Cutting the Fuel Excise Isn’t the Best Option to Ease Cost of Living in Australia

Why Cutting the Fuel Excise Isn’t the Best Option to Ease Cost of Living in Australia
A woman uses a fuel dispenser to fill her car up with petrol at a petrol station in Melbourne, Australia, on July 23, 2013. Scott Barbour/Getty Images
Peter Tulip
Updated:

As surging petrol prices eat into household budgets, politicians have been trying to demonstrate their empathy with ordinary Australians with Federal Treasurer Josh Frydenberg signalling that this month’s budget will contain targeted assistance to ease the cost of living pressures.

What this means is not clear. However, one widely discussed possibility is a cut in fuel excise. A reduction from the current rate of 44.2 cents per litre (US$1.25 per gallon) would directly offset some of the recent run-ups in prices.

Peter Tulip
Peter Tulip
Author
Peter Tulip is chief economist at the Centre for Independent Studies.
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