EVs are a budget black hole

Advertisement

Institute of Public Accountants senior tax adviser Tony Greco estimated the federal government is losing around $564 million annually of tax revenue due to the Fringe Benefits Tax (FBT) exemption for certain battery electric vehicles (BEVs) and plug-in hybrids (PHEVs).

There’s no time limit on the scheme for BEVs. However, the FBT exemption will expire for PHEVs at the end of March 2025.

In 2022, the Australian Treasury forecast the FBT exemption would cost $55 million this financial year, 10 times less than Greco’s estimate.

The full text of this article is available to MacroBusiness subscribers

$1 for your first month, then:
Cancel at any time through our billing provider, Stripe
About the author
Leith van Onselen is Chief Economist at the MB Fund and MB Super. He is also a co-founder of MacroBusiness. Leith has previously worked at the Australian Treasury, Victorian Treasury and Goldman Sachs.