AA welcomes minister’s call to phase out fuel levies

The Automobile Association (AA) has welcomed Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana’s decision to phase out the General Fuel Levy and find a new insurance model for the Road Accident Fund (RAF), ‘so it doesn’t rely on the levy’.

Godongwana made mention to the future of fuel levies in a recent interview with Radio 702, saying the General Fuel Levy brings in R80bn and that ‘we’ve got to find a way of phasing it out’.

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He said the R80bn revenue shortfall would have to be resolved before the phasing out of the General Fuel Levy.

The discussion comes amid record fuel prices, with the General Fuel Levy (R4.29/litre) and RAF Levy (R2.25/litre) plus two smaller duties adding R6.58 to every litre of fuel purchased at the pumps.

“At October’s record inland price of R30.25 per litre for 95 unleaded, that is more than a fifth of the pump price,” ssaid AA CEO Bobby Ramagwede.

“A motorist filling a 50-litre tank pays about R329 in levies. A company running 100 petrol vehicles that each fill up once a week pays about R1.7m a year.”

“Fuel taxes land on everyone who moves: the commuter in a taxi, the business running a fleet, and the worker who pays to get to the job that pays for the journey.”

The AA further called for the government to publicly review the formula that sets the basic fuel price.

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Tamlyn Cramer 1 minute read Facebook X LinkedIn Tumblr Pinterest WhatsApp Telegram Share via Email Print Support local journalism Add The Citizen as a preferred source to see more from Zululand Observer in Google News and Top Stories.