We are now 1 month into this new tax. I would be very interested in your feedback on how it has or will affect your ability to trade over the next year.

There has been plenty of talk, heaps of criticism and seemingly little support throughout numerous industries, but now that we are all stuck with this tax, where do we stand?

The air conditioning and refrigeration industries are possibly the hardest hit and are sure to feel the pinch over coming months. Because we all rely so heavily on these two industries for our basic daily needs like milk, meats, vegetables and of course Ice-cream to name just a few,  it is only a matter of time until these increased costs are passed down to everything we buy at the supermarket.

What is the actual cost of this tax on refrigerant?

As we all know, initially Carbon has been priced at $23.00 per Tonne with each product produced being assigned a GWP (Global Warming Potential) theoretically calculated on how many times more harmful they are to the atmosphere than Carbon Dioxide (CO2). CO2 carries a GWP of 1.

Refrigerant is considered extremely harmful to the environment and now carries the following GWP’s.

For example: 1kg of R404a equates to 3.2.60 metric tonnes of carbon.

This calculates in the following way: R404a GWP of 3.260 x $23.00 Carbon price = $74.98 per Kg.

R404a carries a Carbon Tax of $74.98 per kilo + existing taxes + actual refrigerant cost.

The average refrigerated truck holds approximately 6-10kg of refrigerant, the average supermarket or shopping centre holds in excess of 100kg and some well over 300kg.

Repairs carried out after 30^th June 2012 on your refrigerator or your refrigerated trailer will now cost you between 300-600% more.

No matter which way you look or whatever name you call it, this is a significant additional cost which at some stage will filter down to the average person in some way shape or form.

What can you do to protect yourself?

There is no way to avoid this tax if you need to purchase refrigerant to repair your system, however there are some preventative maintenance measures that you can take.

At Thermal Mark we recommend that you increase the regularity of your programmed maintenance inspections and never fall behind on regular services, although gas leaks are difficult to predict, it has been proven that equipment maintained by quality professionals will have a longer life span at a reduced cost.

Don’t get caught with inferior products!

“Good things aren’t cheap – cheap things aren’t good”

Remember that quality equipment and service sometimes cost you a little more but saves you plenty over time. All of Thermal Marks products have been thoroughly tested in the Australian climate and are of superior standard with a very low probability of costly gas leaks, everything we sell carries our reputation.

Quality service like what you receive at Thermal Mark is important because it means that your equipment is not only kept in top condition but it also will reduce its impact upon the environment and save you paying costly taxes.