Some hit twice by safety levy

Some motorists will end up paying twice for a road safety levy, thanks to a change signalled in the Budget as to the way the fee will now be collected.

The Land and Transport Safety Authority safety levy, previously a one-off $18 payment built into the cost of first registering a car, will now become an annual charge of $1.85 added to the cost of every motorist's registration fees. The levy, combined with a $47.50 ACC levy to meet the cost of road accidents, will bump up the cost of registering a car to $207.10 from July 1.

A Ministry of Transport spokesman, Leo Mortimer, said the levy was not a new charge, just a new way of collecting it, and the $3.5 million raised by the levy each year would not rise under the new system.

The old method of collection, introduced in 1990, was unpredictable and dependent on how many vehicles were registered each year. This way would mean a more reliable flow of revenue, said Mr Mortimer.

The fee is used for putting in place and developing overall vehicle safety standards and monitoring international standards to ensure vehicles entering New Zealand comply with local requirements.

But an Automobile Association spokesman, George Fairbairn, said that while he accepted in principle that there was no increase in the amount collected, it was disappointing that some motorists would end up paying many times. -Dean Austen