rewrite this title Victorian electric car owners win High Court challenge against controversial tax

The High Court has thrown out a controversial Victorian tax on electric cars that applies to zero or low emission vehicles.

The state government tax was applied at a rate of approximately two cents per mile and was designed to match the contribution fuel vehicle drivers already make to road maintenance through a Commonwealth fuel excise.

This means drivers of plug-in hybrid and fully electric vehicles must pay for the distance they travel on public roads, both within and outside Victoria.

But electric car owners Christopher Vanderstock and Kathleen Davies challenged the tax in the High Court, arguing the tax was illegal because it was an excise that only the Commonwealth could impose.

Lawyers for drivers have described the Victorian tax as a “money grab”.

The state argued that it was not an excise but rather a tax on activity that it was entitled to levy.

But today the High Court ruled that this tax constituted an excise and therefore could not be imposed by the state.

The stakes are high following this ruling, particularly with the increasing number of electric vehicles on the roads, which will result in a reduction in state and territory revenue from fuel excise.

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