Global automotive giant BMW has thrown its weight behind the European Union’s push for the Albanese government to cut the cost of high-end electric vehicles by slashing the luxury tax that applies to cars above $89,332.
, a cost impost that does not apply to other luxury imports. Removing it would save buyers tens of thousands of dollars on a range of vehicles.One of the biggest importers of luxury cars, BMW Australia, called on the Albanese government to revise the luxury tax on low-emissions vehicles. It also wants electric vehicles worth more than the $89,332 luxury car threshold to enjoy the same fringe benefits tax exemptions available to cheaper EVs.
Slightly more than half of the survey respondents said manufacturing workers were hard to find in the June quarter, up from 44.6 per cent in the March quarter, but down from the high of 67.5 per cent in the 2022 September quarter. A slowdown in new orders also likely put a handbrake on new hiring, with a net one per cent of respondents reporting a decline in the June quarter.Westpac chief economist Bill Evans said conditions in the manufacturing sector were flatlining, with the composite index falling to 50.7 in the June quarter from 53.9 in the three months to March.