The legislature’s Transportation Committee on Thursday voted to schedule another meeting to discuss whether the government should start charging car drivers a vehicle fuel tax based on the amount of gasoline they use, as committee members failed again to reach a consensus on an issue that has been debated for years.
The Highway Act (公路法) states that motor vehicle owners are required to pay a vehicle fuel tax every year, with the amount depended on the vehicles engine displacement — making it a fixed fee applicable to all vehicle owners, regardless of the distance driven that year.
Some people think that the tax should be based on the “beneficiary pays principle” and paid when people buy gasoline, while others believe asking drivers of electric cars to pay the tax is unreasonable, as they do not consume any fuel.
The Ministry of Transportation and Communications (MOTC) has been hesitant to change the way vehicle fuel tax is charged.
Many drivers in the 1960s turned to underground oil suppliers for fuel to avoid paying fuel tax when the government introduced a fuel tax at the pump, the ministry said.
Not only did the policy lead to confusion in the petrochemicals retail market, but it led to a shortfall in the highway maintenance fund, which was partially funded by fuel taxes, the ministry said.
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Lin Chun-hsien (林俊憲), one of the lawmakers who proposed that car drivers pay fuel taxes at the pump, said his proposal would reduce the cost of collecting taxes.
He said that many advanced countries around the world have already adopted the same policy and asked why the ministry continued to deem it unfeasible.
The government should start enforcing the policy next year and apply it to private cars first, he said, adding that the tax should be renamed the “road usage fee,” because that is how the funds are used.
DPP Legislator Chung Chia-pin (鍾佳濱) opposed a change, saying that drivers should be charged based on the burden that their driving habits impose on road maintenance.
Drivers should be charged based on their driving distance, because it is the easiest way to determine a reasonable charge for road usage, he said, adding that it is the ministry’s responsibility to ensure that drivers do not tamper with odometers.
It is reasonable for gas retailers, which are regulated by the Ministry of Economic Affairs, to collect the air pollution fee from consumers, as the use of fuel generates pollution, but Lin’s proposal would ask gas stations to collect the road usage fee as well, which should be collected by MOTC, Chung said.
The transportation ministry has to consider if it is legitimate for another government agency to collect the levy on its behalf, he added.
Meanwhile, counties with less-developed public transport systems should be charged less road usage fees, as residents depend heavily on the use of private motor vehicles, he said.
DPP Legislator Cheng Yun-pen (鄭運鵬) said that he was against changing the title of the fuel tax to road usage tax, because it would be like punishing people living in remote areas, who rely on the use of private vehicles for their everyday needs.
The government collects approximately NT$46 billion (US$1.52 billion) each year, which is used to fund road maintenance, MOTC Deputy Minister Chi Wen-chung (祈文中) said.
The ministry is scheduled to submit a research report in October on the potential issues that would occur if a new scheme is implemented, including whether it the tax would generate reliable revenue to fund road maintenance or cause public transport operators to raise ticket prices.
A fourth public debate was held today about restarting the recently decommissioned Ma-anshan Nuclear Power Plant, ahead of a referendum on the controversial issue to be held in less than two weeks. A referendum on Aug. 23 is to ask voters if they agree that “the Ma-anshan Nuclear Power Plant should continue operations upon approval by the competent authority and confirmation that there are no safety concerns.” Anyone over 18 years of age can vote in the referendum. The vote comes just three months after its final reactor shut down, officially making Taiwan nuclear-free. Taiwan People’s Party Chairman Huang Kuo-chang (黃國昌) represented
ENDORSING TAIWAN: Honduran presidential candidate Nasry Afura said that Honduras was ‘100 times better off’ when it was allied with Taipei The Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday said it would explore the possibility of restoring diplomatic relations with Honduras based on the principle of maintaining national interests and dignity. The ministry made the remarks in response to reporters’ questions regarding an article titled: “Will Taiwan Regain a Diplomatic Ally?” published in The Diplomat on Saturday. The article said Honduras’ presidential election in November could offer Taiwan the chance to regain an ally, as multiple candidates have promoted re-establishing diplomatic relations with Taiwan. Honduras severed diplomatic ties with Taiwan in March 2023 in favor of Beijing, but since switching its diplomatic recognition,
Scoot announced yesterday that starting in October, it would increase flights between Taipei and Japan’s Narita airport and Hokkaido, and between Singapore and Taipei. The low-cost airline, a subsidiary of Singapore Airlines, also said it would launch flights to Chiang Rai in Thailand, Okinawa and Tokyo’s Haneda airport between December and March next year. Flights between Singapore and Chiang Rai would begin on Jan. 1, with five flights per week operated by an Embraer E190-E2 aircraft, Scoot said. Flights between Singapore and Okinawa would begin on Dec. 15, with three flights per week operated by Airbus A320 aircraft, the airline said. Services between Singapore
‘ANGRY’: Forgetting the humiliations and sacrifices of ‘the people of the Republic of China’ experienced disqualified Lai from being president, Ma Ying-jeou said Former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) yesterday criticized President William Lai (賴清德) over what he called “phrasing that downplayed Japan’s atrocities” against China during World War II. Ma made the remarks in a post on Facebook on the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II. Ma said he was “angry and disappointed” that Lai described the anniversary as the end of World War II instead of a “victory in the war of resistance” — a reference to the end of the Second Sino-Japanese War (1937-1945). The eight-year war was a part of World War II, in which Japan and the other Axis
RSS