As more EVs hit the road, this gap in our tax system needs fixing

March 30, 2026 — 4:07am

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History suggests that when you get a crisis as big as the current oil shock, it not only causes short-term problems like inflation, but also leads to long-term changes in people’s behaviour.

The global financial crisis of 2008 is said to have made some people in the worst-affected countries more debt-shy, for example, while COVID-19 ushered in a big rise in working from home.

What might change this time? I’d hazard a guess that soaring fuel costs and all those empty bowsers could change how many of us think about the cost of running a petrol or diesel-fuelled car, compared with an electric car.

Indeed, there are already reports from car makers and dealers that more people are thinking about making their next car an EV.

As more people make that decision, it only hastens the need to address a sizeable gap in our tax system. The problem is pretty simple: fuel excise is not collecting tax from the growing number of road users getting around in an electric car.

Let’s not adopt drongo economics to deal with high-priced fuel

Shane WrightSenior economics correspondent

Senior economics correspondent

Fixing this by introducing some sort of road user charge – dubbed an “EV tax” by some – would be a sensible........

© Brisbane Times