Petrol $1.10 a litre

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867 posts

Ultimate Geek

#620890 7-May-2012 11:16

DrCheese:
sbiddle:
Fuel companies and the AA have been trying to point this out every opportunity they've had, especially since our taxes on fuel are very low by OECD standards.

Most places I've been charge about $3 per litre. Exceptions are the US, Canada, and Australia.

It's worth remembering that these countries have some very long distances between cities, so petrol prices increases can hit the motorist harder than in somewhere like Luxembourg.

Not only that, but all three countries have a considerable investment in the production of large V8 automobiles/engines. If politicians in those countries want Billy Bob (or Wayne) to keep buying Ford or Chevrolet (Holden)... which helps keep unemployment down and those campaign funds keep rolling in, they need to keep petrol (gas?) prices reasonably low.

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keewee01

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#620897 7-May-2012 11:24

qwerty7: I know roads are expensive to build.

I also believe many tax dollars could be saved if government agencies were more efficient.

I think many people wouldn't know 50% of the fuel price is tax. Then again i could be wrong.

Anyone who pays attention to the news regularly will know as every couple of years this topic spends several weeks in the news. So I think most people will know this fact.

Oblivian: They also tax those taxes BTW.

GST slapped on at the end of it.

Now this is the bit I really take exception to - as far as I am concerned double dipping by taxing a tax is WRONG!

Dingbatt

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#620906 7-May-2012 11:39

keewee01:
qwerty7: I know roads are expensive to build.

I also believe many tax dollars could be saved if?government?agencies were more efficient.?

I think many people wouldn't know 50% of the fuel price is tax. Then again i could be wrong.?

Anyone who pays attention to the news regularly will know as every couple of years this topic spends several weeks in the news. So I think most people will know this fact.

Oblivian: They also tax those taxes BTW.

GST slapped on at the end of it.

Now this is the bit I really take exception to - as far as I am concerned double dipping by taxing a tax is WRONG!

So the taxing a tax could be the perfect answer to produce a government surplus. They could charge GST on GST! And then charge GST on that! Just like compounding interest. I know I'll write to Dr Russell 'lets print some more money' Norman and see if the Greens want to use the idea :-/

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Lurch

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#620926 7-May-2012 12:15

deadlyllama: Remember that you do actually get something for the tax you pay. You benefit from free medical care -- as someone who's been ambulanced (is that a word?) in to A&E I am extremely appreciative of this. Also education, roads, etc.

Lucky to get a free ambulance as it's all user pays for that part. :-)

surfisup1000

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#620942 7-May-2012 12:38

Petrol is about 60% tax (inc GST).

You could remove petrol tax, but, you'd need to make up the difference in your income tax.

Petrol tax seems to be a nice tax in that it is a user pays tax.

The real problem is that NZ is a low wage economy.

deadlyllama

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#620952 7-May-2012 12:49

Lurch:
deadlyllama: Remember that you do actually get something for the tax you pay. You benefit from free medical care -- as someone who's been ambulanced (is that a word?) in to A&E I am extremely appreciative of this. Also education, roads, etc.

Lucky to get a free ambulance as it's all user pays for that part. :-)

I guess that's what Wellington Free Ambulance do -- but when my brother needed an ambulance in Napier I don't recall them asking for his eftpos card -- maybe ACC paid?

keewee01

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#620984 7-May-2012 13:44

deadlyllama:
Lurch:
deadlyllama: Remember that you do actually get something for the tax you pay. You benefit from free medical care -- as someone who's been ambulanced (is that a word?) in to A&E I am extremely appreciative of this. Also education, roads, etc.

Lucky to get a free ambulance as it's all user pays for that part. :-)

I guess that's what Wellington Free Ambulance do -- but when my brother needed an ambulance in Napier I don't recall them asking for his eftpos card -- maybe ACC paid?

Here in Ashburton St Johns will bill you for the ambulance use. Certainly not free.

I know our Southern Cross Healthcare plan covers ambulance rides - so that doubly suggests that it is usually a paid service, except for areas where it is covered by a corporate or fundraising - such as the Wellington Free Ambulance Service.

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nickb800

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#620986 7-May-2012 13:49

keewee01:
deadlyllama:
Lurch:
deadlyllama: Remember that you do actually get something for the tax you pay. You benefit from free medical care -- as someone who's been ambulanced (is that a word?) in to A&E I am extremely appreciative of this. Also education, roads, etc.

Lucky to get a free ambulance as it's all user pays for that part. :-)

I guess that's what Wellington Free Ambulance do -- but when my brother needed an ambulance in Napier I don't recall them asking for his eftpos card -- maybe ACC paid?

Here in Ashburton St Johns will bill you for the ambulance use. Certainly not free.

I know our Southern Cross Healthcare plan covers ambulance rides - so that doubly suggests that it is usually a paid service, except for areas where it is covered by a corporate or fundraising - such as the Wellington Free Ambulance Service.

Basically anywhere outside Wellington it will cost you (except for accidents - covered by ACC). However I suspect they dont use mobile eftpos terminals while you are on your deathbed, they probably just invoice you in the mail (anyone know how this works?)

gzt

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#621007 7-May-2012 14:41

An invoice is sent to your home address.

Niel

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#621101 7-May-2012 17:09

deadlyllama: Would you prefer to live in the third world with a massive underclass and big walls around your house to keep them out? Men with big guns guarding bank branches? High crime rates pushing up your insurance premiums?

Are you (also) from South Africa? There you do not go to public hospitals, unless you want to die. 1:3 people have aids, not to mention TB and many other diseases. You pay for private medical, which pays for private hospitals.

A couple of years ago we were in Brisbane where we saw people living on the streets like we used to see in Cape Town, no different. It is something you do not see in NZ, at least not to that extent. We do get lots for our tax. A lot of waste also, but it looks like that is slowly getting addressed.

My wife and son had to take a few ambulance rides around Auckland. All were accidents except one (transfer I think), and that we got invoiced for to our home address. It was not overly expensive, about double a taxi fair I think, and we gave a donation to St Johns so now all rides are free and there are a few other advantages I can't remember now.

Reduce fuel tax and then charge congestion fees. If it was not for congestion then you would not need to build more roads. But at the same time be responsible with designing new roads/services. If you want to build bus lanes, let the bus fair pay for it.

And lastly regarding WOF, in South Africa there is no WOF. There is only a comprehensive inspection at change of ownership. Cars are of lower standard. Informal taxis (Toyota mini van) get constantly overloaded. Despite this, the % death toll in South Africa is the same as in New Zealand. So what difference does a WOF make? Perhaps it is required else ACC would not cover all accidents (i.e. WOF does something rather than doing nothing).

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sleemanj

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#621120 7-May-2012 17:32

deadlyllama: I guess that's what Wellington Free Ambulance do -- but when my brother needed an ambulance in Napier I don't recall them asking for his eftpos card -- maybe ACC paid?

Don't know how the thread got this far off topic, but it's a good cause so...

St John charges are detailed at:
http://www.stjohn.org.nz/files/AandPTC.pdf

In short, ACC pays if it's an accident and within 24 hours of that accident that an ambo is required. Falling off a ladder and braining yourself is an accident, a stroke is not an accident.

The DHB pays part of the charge if it's some other medical emergency.

The DHB pays the whole lot if they have ordered the ambo to transport you.

And otherwise you pay the whole lot.

That said, even the full charge is extremely reasonable compared to for example operators in the US.

You can also support St John with an annual fee and that will mean your whole household can get the part charges waived if you should be in the unlucky situation to need an emergency medical transport not covered by ACC
http://www.stjohn.org.nz/donate/supporters.aspx

---
James Sleeman
I sell lots of stuff for electronic enthusiasts...

alexx

867 posts

Ultimate Geek

#621148 7-May-2012 18:06

timmmay: Assuming two $100 petrol tank fills a week, 50% tax...

So that would be about 180 litres each week?
Then if your car can do 6L/100km, you can drive about 3000km with that 180 litres.

So if you commute from Tauranga to Auckland (just over 200km) and return each day, including Saturday and Sunday, you might still have a bit left over at the end of the week. Not that you'd have any spare time to use it.

I think someone in that situation might want to consider moving closer to work.

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timmmay

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#621150 7-May-2012 18:16

I meant per month, and I did the calculation as per month, I just wrote the wrong word sorry. Yes two tanks of petrol a week would be a lot!

Dingbatt

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#621155 7-May-2012 18:22

alexx:
timmmay: Assuming two $100 petrol tank fills a week, 50% tax...

So that would be about 180 litres each week?
Then if your car can do 6L/100km, you can drive about 3000km with that 180 litres.

So if you commute from Tauranga to Auckland (just over 200km) and return each day, including Saturday and Sunday, you might still have a bit left over at the end of the week. Not that you'd have any spare time to use it.

I think someone in that situation might want to consider moving closer to work.

Not quite sure about your maths. $200 will get you just under 91 litres of regular petrol ($2.19.9/l) and cars around town are lucky to get 6l/100km (unless they are hybrids). But even if they could that's 1500km. If they have 2 cars, like a lot of families, that's 750 km each. My round trip commute to work is 70km so that alone accounts for 350km. I would say it is more likely that timmay's vehicle(s) probably use more like 9-11l/100km around town like our two do.

Edit: sorry timmay replied while I was composing. But my calculations still apply.

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alexx

867 posts

Ultimate Geek

#621170 7-May-2012 18:40

Dingbatt:
alexx:
timmmay: Assuming two $100 petrol tank fills a week, 50% tax...

So that would be about 180 litres each week?
Then if your car can do 6L/100km, you can drive about 3000km with that 180 litres.

So if you commute from Tauranga to Auckland (just over 200km) and return each day, including Saturday and Sunday, you might still have a bit left over at the end of the week. Not that you'd have any spare time to use it.

I think someone in that situation might want to consider moving closer to work.

Not quite sure about your maths.

Oh yeah sorry, I had this $1.10 per litre in my head due to the thread title... of course it's double that. But since timmmay was talking per month, yeah 2 x $100 tank fills is reasonable.

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