Cabcharge chairman Russell Balding has lambasted state and federal governments for inaction over what he says is the illegal business model of ride-sharing service Uber.
Cabcharge is under huge pressure from the emergence of app-based ride-sharing services, which undercut traditional taxi services but are based offshore and are facing a Senate inquiry into corporate tax avoidance. The company's annual profit dropped 16.6 per cent to $46.8 million partly due to NSW, Victorian and Western Australian governments halving the surcharge it can levy passengers.
Mr Balding on Wednesday reiterated his frustration that newcomers to the sector are not also subject to the same regulations as Cabcharge.
"In a civilised western democracy, you should not be allowed to cherrypick which laws you observe and which laws you don't," Mr Balding told the company's annual general meeting on Wednesday.
He said some politicians were even encouraging constituents to break the law by endorsing the use of such services.
Cabcharge had contributed more than $450 million in GST over the past five years from payments via its taxi terminals, it had paid $88 million in corporate Commonwealth income tax and contributed some $8.3 million in payroll tax, he said.
"When various state and territory governments look at the taxi industry and how it should be structured for today's digitally savvy environment, those governments give full consideration to our current regulatory regime and why such regulations were introduced, the role that the legitimate taxi industry plays in contributing to our public transport as well as the economic contribution through employment generation and revenue payments," Mr Balding said.
Cabcharge says it's looking beyond the taxi industry in the face of pressure from ride-sharing services, with chief executive Andrew Skelton pointing out the $1.9 million in 2014/15 revenue from services including payment services and coding to Westpac and Woolworths.
Shares in Cabshare were up 22 cents, or 8.06 per cent, at $2.95, at 1355 AEDT.
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