Motorists pay 35 percent on indirect taxes per litre of petrol: AA
The Automobile Association (AA) says the announcement by finance minister Pravin Gordhan on a futher hike for the fuel and Road Accident Fund (RAF) levies is cause for concern.
Gordhan announced that an additional 30 cents per litre is to be added to the general fuel levy for the second year in a row, and that an additional nine cents a litre is to be added to the RAF levy.
According to the AA, the additional 30 cents per litre means that motorists will now be paying R3.15 towards the fuel levy for every litre of fuel they put in their vehicles, and additional R1.63 per litre for the RAF levy.
"Effectively, this means that for every litre of petrol, motorists are paying R4.78, or 35 percent, on indirect taxes. This is a huge amount, and calculated on a 50 litre tank of fuel amounts to R239. South Africans already buckling because of the weak economy will now have dig even deeper in their pockets. This at a time when many are questioning government spending, " says the AA.
The AA says the increases will push the price to R13.77 per litre for 93 unleaded fuel inland, and R13.39 per litre at the coast, using the current price of fuel.
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"This, of course, is dependent on the monthly changes to the fuel price. However, using the current figures, filling a 50 litre tank of petrol will cost R688.50 (inland), and R669.50 at the coast," says the AA.
The AA says it has noted that this increase comes amid widespread apathy towards other taxes on motorists, for instance, the funding model of the Gauteng Freeway Improvement Project (GFIP).
"We have long called for a portion of this fuel levy to be ring-fenced and used for projects such as Gauteng's e-tolls. But the money collected through this levy does not go towards this, although it makes sense to do so. Instead motorists must pay extra taxes for the use of the roads," says the AA.