Perth Lessons From Car Park Tax Defeat

Perth Lessons From Car Park Tax DefeatEarlier in the year, the Property Council successfully campaigned to stop the introduction of a new CBD car park tax in Adelaide. The tide of public opinion is turning against car park taxes and there are lessons for Perth where the Government is considering an extension of the Perth Parking Levy to fringe areas of the CBD.The turning point in Adelaide was mounting public concern that the proposed car park tax would make business dealings in the CBD more expensive and discourage investment. The Royal Automobile Association in South Australia released a study which found the car park tax would not make motorists switch to public transport, instead motorists would drive to alternative places to do business. The issue came to a head when the car park tax was seen to conflict with the state government’s new policy to make Adelaide an investment friendly location. Does this sound familiar in Perth? It should. There is a lot being invested in the Perth CBD and the key to success for the new city projects will be increased foot traffic. The risk with expanding the Perth Parking Levy is that it will discourage people coming to the CBD. The other factor behind the downfall of the car park tax in Adelaide was the lack of alternative public transport options for many city workers and shoppers, which is a similar sentiment expressed in Perth. Of course the ‘elephant in the room’ in any discussion about government revenue today is the parlous condition of state Budgets and the lack of commitment by all governments to engage in real tax reform, including a review of the GST and those two ugly state taxes – stamp duty and land tax. A head in the sand approach by states to tax reform has resulted in the scramble for alternatives like car park taxes and emergency services levies. That’s the real bottom line.