Death - and taxes !

It is said that in this world nothing is certain - except death and taxes !

It was only a few short years ago that the Federal government was subsidising the conversion of cars from petrol to  LPG.    This caused a flurry in the conversion industry as motor mechanics rushed to get the necessary certification to offer this service, and it also induced Ford to offer the popular Ford Falcon in optional LPG mode direct from the factory.

The incentive for motorists was the huge price difference between the taxes applied to petrol - and their absence from LPG.    As a matter of economics, fleets such as taxis and other high mileage users were powered by LPG - and that remains the case today.

The only thing that differs - is the government stance on LPG taxation !    From the start of December this week - a new excise tax will be slapped on LPG.    The price will increase by 2.5 cents a litre - and that will happen in every future year by the same amount until excise reaches 12.5 cents a litre in 2015.

It seems that the tax holiday is over !     So much for the master plan to make Australia self reliant on transport costs by converting the car fleet from a commodity that is decreasing and will eventually become an import - to LPG - which we have in abundance.

The government is betting it's future on the hope that the car industry will eventually lick the problems of producing long range electric cars, or be able to convert water to it's two components cheaply to arrive at the hydrogen cell as a fuel.

But - if that happens - the insatiable demand for tax will present the government with a new problem.
Perhaps it is not so strange that both electricity and water are suffering huge price hikes.  If either are to become the car fuel of the future, they will need to become much more expensive than they have been in the past.

Which brings us back to that comment - about death and taxes !