She has explained that the definition of off-road vehicles, plant and equipment as applied prior to the carbon price will remain in the calculation of fuel tax and consumption. All off-road vehicles excluding those used in agriculture, forestry and fisheries, will be liable to attract a rise in the diesel fuel tax. A diesel fuel tax of six cents per litre will be effective from 1 July, 2012. The fuel tax credit entitlement will reduce proportionate to the carbon charge on fuel use.
?The same longstanding fuel tax regime that applied prior to the carbon price with all of the definitions of off-road, on-road and which types of vehicles, plant and equipment and uses will continue to apply,? the spokeswoman said. These examples would include vehicles such as skid steers and backhoes.
The spokeswoman confirmed that larger members of the quarry and construction industry will have liabilities towards the carbon tax if their facilities produce annual emissions of 25,000 tonnes or more of carbon dioxide (CO2-e), excluding emissions from liquid and alternative fuels, synthetic greenhouse gases (apart from aluminum PFCs) and decommissioned coal mines.
Landfills that produce annual emissions or more of 10,000 tonnes of CO2-e, excluding similar emissions, and are located within a prescribed distance (yet to be determined) of a landfill that accepts the same type of waste and has emissions of 25,000 tonnes of CO2-e or more, again with the same exclusions, will also be liable.
Among the emissions-intensive and trade-exposed activities that are eligible for assistance under the Government?s Jobs and Competitiveness Program are the production of lime and the production of clinker, the most emissions intensive component of cement manufacturing, Both are eligible for assistance to cover 94.5 per cent of industry average carbon costs in the first year. This assistance will be reduced by 1.3 per cent per year to encourage industry to cut pollution.
The ongoing Jobs and Competitiveness Program will provide $9.2 billion of assistance over the first three years of the carbon pricing mechanism, targeted at companies that produce a lot of carbon pollution but are constrained in their capacity to pass through costs in global markets.
?Other manufacturing activities that do not meet the threshold under the Jobs and Competitiveness Program will be provided with other types of support during the move to a carbon price,? the spokeswoman said. ?The $1.2 billion Clean Technology Program will provide some options of support. The $800 million Clean Technology Investment Program will provide grants to manufacturers to support investments in energy-efficient capital equipment. It also includes low-pollution technologies, processes and products, as well as the $200 million Clean Technology Innovation Program that is geared to support business investment in research and development in the areas of renewable energy, low pollution technology and energy efficiency.?
Source: Federal Department of Resources, Energy & Tourism, Canberra