$905 million Taxi licence financial assistance package passes Parliament
The NSW Government’s Point to Point Transport (Taxis and Hire Vehicles) Amendment Bill 2022 has passed Parliament, guaranteeing taxi licence holders an additional $760 million in financial assistance from early next year, taking the combined package value to $905 million.
Minister for Transport, Veterans and Western Sydney David Elliott said the Government can now complete the deregulation of the NSW Point to Point industry and deliver taxi licence holders a record package of financial assistance.
“The financial assistance comes after significant consultation with the taxi industry, including the NSW Taxi Council and A2B Services, and I’m pleased both industry bodies have backed in the package unconditionally,” Mr Elliott said.
“The Opposition has no position on the Government’s policy. They did not put forward a single financial assistance package. Yet they lined up to take the credit when the Government passed the Bill to provide taxi licence holders with a record amount of funding.”
Minister for Regional Transport and Roads Sam Farraway said payments from the $905 million taxi financial assistance package will be in the bank accounts of taxi licence holders as early as February 2023.
“The NSW Government has offered the most generous assistance package in the country, if not the world,” Mr Farraway said.
“I am glad the NSW Taxi Council accepted our final offer and it was good to see roughly 90 per cent of members of Parliament vote in favour of this Bill giving certainty to taxi licence holders and their families.”
Transport for NSW will continue to work with the NSW Taxi Council concerning an ATO ruling on the Capital Gains Tax treatment arising from this package.
Under the Bill:
- Taxi licences will be available on application for an administrative fee and be able to operate anywhere across the State
- There will be a seamless transition process for existing taxi licence holders to the new licensing system
- Financial assistance will be offered to the owners of ordinary perpetual taxi licences, which will have zero value as a result of these reforms, and will be cancelled.
The new package provides $150,000 for every Sydney metropolitan taxi licence holder with a cap of six plates. Each regional taxi plate will be paid between $40,000 and $195,000, with no cap on the number of plates.
The industry financial assistance package is funded by the ongoing operation of the Passenger Service Levy for every point to point transport journey.
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