Labor urged to halve $8bn a year in fuel tax credits for trucks and heavy vehicles

Australia’s fuel tax credit scheme is a ‘political gift’ from which large businesses mostly benefit, the Grattan Institute says in a new report. Photograph: David F/Getty Images/iStockphoto

The Albanese government has been urged to halve the $8bn a year in fuel tax credits it gives mining trucks, semi-trailers and other heavy vehicles, with a new report finding changes are crucial for budget repair and meeting emissions targets.

Fuel tax credits have been “gnawing away an ever-growing share of fuel tax revenue”, with only half of the current amount spent justified in economic or social terms, according to a Grattan Institute report released on Monday.