SYDNEY: Australia will limit a tax discount aimed at encouraging purchases of electric vehicles as the center-left government looks for savings in next week's budget.
From April 2027 for two years, only EV's costing A$75,000 (RM212,435) or less will receive the full discount on the fringe-benefits tax, the Labor government said in a statement.
Cars that cost between that and the level at which the luxury car tax is imposed will receive only a 25% discount.
Then from 2029, the discount will be unified at 25% for any non-luxury vehicle, meaning a much smaller tax break for many buyers of electric cars.
The change will help the government "address the immediate pressures our country is facing at the same time as we deliver support for Australian families and address our inter-generational responsibilities," Treasurer Jim Chalmers and Energy Minister Chris Bowen said in the statement.
Australia recorded a surge in EV sales even before the war in the Middle East sent fuel prices soaring and encouraged more people to buy electric-powered cars, with sales in March hitting the highest share of the market on record.
EVs accounted for almost 15% of total new car sales - up from 7.5% a year earlier - according to data from the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries.
