Professional freight haulers in the Down Under have grown so frustrated with government taxes some say they’d be better off on the “dole.” That’s Australian slang for going on welfare and American truckers can certainly understand that sentiment.
A Sydney “truckie” named Les reportedly ranted during an Australian news interview that the powers that be see them as “a cash cow.”
“That’s all we are to the transport industry. We’re a cash cow. Every time we do something, the more you do, the more they hit us with taxes. We’re paying twice the fuel we were from last year. It’s ridiculous,” Les reportedly said. “I’m paying anywhere up to $1,000 a week in total.”
Australia’s federal government recently rolled out a mandate that would raise the diesel fuel tax from 27.2 cents to 32.4 cents per liter. There are approximately 3.75 liters to a gallon. U.S. truckers are intimately familiar with the federally-mandated 24.3 cents per gallon. On top of that, individual states drive up the cost of tractor-trailer fuel by adding their own taxes.
Connecticut levied the highest diesel fuel tax in the country in 2022 at nearly 50 cents per gallon. The state also adds a per-mile tax for big rigs. Rhode Island recently lost a court battle over its truck-only tolling system. The Ocean State is appealing the decision in hopes of siphoning off tens of millions of dollars from trucking companies and owner-operators.
By contrast, Alaska and Hawaii tack on less than one penny per gallon. But given the average U.S. tractor-trailer uses more than 20,000 gallons annually and Australians burn upwards of 75,000 liters, it’s easy to see why Aussie and American truckers see fuel taxes as prohibitive to working for a living.
“Go on the dole, that’s all it tells us — go on the dole and you’ll get more money,” Les reportedly said. “Because the harder we work, the more we have to give the money away.”
A small Aussie fleet owner with 40 trucks named AJ echoed his irritation over excessive taxation.
“So, we probably use anywhere from 60 to 70,000 liters of diesel a week, our fuel bills probably, you know, up over $100,000 easily each week,” AJ reportedly said. “They (his staff) come to us and go: ‘Hey boss, we need some more money.’ But you know, we’ve got to pay extra for all these things.”
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