Congestion Tax on CBD Traffic A Possibility

Capital cities have been urged to introduce a London-style congestion tax on CBD traffic or make city parking even more expensive.

Parking levies have been introduced in Perth, Sydney and Melbourne to raise money from private car parking operators and spend it on encouraging other forms of transport into the cities. Sydney's levy is $2000 per parking space, Melbourne's levy is $800.

Cristina Lynn, managing partner of Parking Consultants International, said parking levies did not get to the root of the congestion problem. She said applying a levy to parking spots, in which cars didn't often move for the entire day, was not going to help ease city congestion during work hours.

A London- or Stockholm-style tax, payable on entry, would be a more targeted way of addressing congestion in cities than a flat-rate parking levy, particularly Stockholm where zero-emission cars aren't subject to the tax.

Do you think a tax for CBD traffic is fair? For up to date activity on tax laws try TimeBase's PIT services.