From Feb. 1, users of Uber, Xinzhou, will have to pay an extra A $1 tax on each trip. (photo from the Daily Telegraph)
According to the Daily Mail, goverment in the new state has imposed a mandatory tax measure on car-sharing companies, which will be used to help lift the taxi industry out of its plight, and as a result, as of Feb. 1, the tax will be used to help the taxi industry get out of the woods. Commuters in the state will have to pay an extra A $1 for each trip.
It is reported that from February 1, the new state will introduce a passenger service tax, which means that taxi, car rental and shared car companies will have to pay a $1 Australian dollar tax for each trip. To fund the new state goverment's A $250 million taxi industry aid program.
In response to this measure, ride service companies may choose to shift tax pressures on consumers. On Tuesday night, Uber (Uber), a ride-sharing company, sent a notification email to users, saying that from Feb. 1 Uber would charge passengers an Australian dollar in addition to the cost of each trip.
At the end of the email, the company also encouraged customers dissatisfied with the new tax measures to contact the new state transportation director, Constance (Andrew Constance).
The new state's goverment tax, which will last for five years, will be used to fund a $250 million taxi industry aid program. The plan aims to help taxi companies hit by shared ride platforms.
Constance expressed disappointment at Uber's opposition to the tax measure. He points out that A $1 tax is a temporary measure. Companies such as Uber are the main beneficiaries of peer-to-peer industries, but they oppose goverment's fair aid to the battered taxi industry.
A spokesman for the Australian region of Uber said demand for taxis has remained stable since sharing ride services entered the new state in 2015, and reforms have led to the development of the taxi industry and a pick-up in the value of taxi licences. There are data showing that the taxi industry does not need assistance, so the company is confused about the measures taken by the new state of goverment.