REGIONAL Australians should be exempt from the luxury car tax due to their increased risk of hitting wildlife, a Nationals MP says.
The tax has been a contentious issue for years, but Holden's recently announced demise in Australia has once again brought it to the forefront.
Nationals MP Barnaby Joyce said for people in regional areas, a four-wheel drive wasn't a luxury, it was "an occupational health and safety issue".
"Try finding one person in the country that hasn't hit a roo," Mr Joyce said.
"If you hit a beast or a horse in a car, you may be dead - not soft, dead."
The tax applies to imported vehicles that are less than two years old and valued over $67,525, leaving most prefer farm vehicles above the threshold.
"A Land Cruiser with a bull bar and you're there," Mr Joyce said.
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"I'm driving past Kentucky hall [in New England, NSW] and of the 20 vehicles lined up, there are two sedans, the rest are four-wheel drives."
Mr Joyce and Nationals Senator Matt Canavan have called for exceptions on specific vehicles in regional areas.
"Many farmers have to buy vehicles that are above that threshold to operate their business," Senator Canavan said.
"That sort of cost on our farms particularly when facing a drought, that's something that should be looked at first in my view."
A number of Liberal MPs, such as Tim Wilson, Craig Kelly, Jason Falinski, and James Paterson, have gone a step further and called for the whole tax to be removed.
Treasurer Josh Frydenberg said there although there were "no plans to remove" the tax, he "would never say never".
"We're always the party of lower taxes," Mr Frydenburg said.
"We've got a series of taxes we'd like to remove, but we're committed to keeping the nation's balance sheet strong."
The tax is worth about $700 million a year to the budget.