00:00 Riz Atkar is in Bendigo to work out how many electric vehicle charges the new GovHub building
00:07 will need. He says Victoria has some of the worst charging infrastructure in the country,
00:12 despite being the only state to raise millions of dollars through an electric vehicle tax.
00:17 Look when it comes to NSW they've got at least 30% more sites compared to what Victoria has.
00:24 A landmark decision by the High Court found the tax was unlawful, meaning for the past
00:30 two years the government's been collecting two cents for every kilometre travelled by
00:34 low emission cars without the authority to do so.
00:38 It's a matter of genuine concern that the High Court is reimagining the Constitution,
00:45 that they've upturned 50 years of interpretation of what constitutes an excise.
00:51 But the bigger problem is it could lead to constitutional challenges to other state taxes,
00:56 including the Airbnb levy.
00:58 So the High Court's decision could have broad ramifications for all states, so it could
01:03 cause these states to look over their stamp duties on goods of various types.
01:08 We're obviously going to have to look at this, we're going to have to look at which taxes
01:14 may be impacted.
01:16 It was meant to be the tax to replace the fuel excise as petrol cars disappear and collect
01:21 cash for road maintenance.
01:24 Instead electric vehicle owners could see an extra charge on their registration.
01:29 The Treasurer says he's not worried about filling the $7 million black hole this will
01:33 leave in the state's budget.
01:35 The government's talking to its lawyers to see whether it has to pay back the electric
01:39 vehicle drivers who've already forked out the tax.
01:43 It is a bit of a bad look though for a government, so Victoria's government, to impose a tax
01:48 they had no legal authority to do and then really haul people over the coals when they're
01:52 trying to get the money back.
01:53 Well if the High Court struck down your law you should never have imposed it and the fair
01:57 thing to do is to return the money.
01:59 The government may not get a choice.
02:02 [BLANK_AUDIO]
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