18.07.2008

FTA welcomes fuel duty U turn

The Freight Transport Association (FTA) in Britain has welcomed the Government's decision to postpone proposed 2p per litre rise in fuel duty in October, but says it must be the first step in a major review of commercial vehicle taxation. The FTA says the postponement will save the UK haulage industry £280 million annually, but claims the British government has a long way to go to bring UK prices into line with the EU norm.

The FTA's Director of External Affairs, Geoff Dossetter said: "The scrapping of the increase at a time of high world oil prices was inevitable. However, at 50p per litre, UK diesel duty for commercial vehicles is twice the EU average of just 25p per litre." "The Government must now engage with the industry in order to find a practical means of bringing UK duty more in line with continental competitors. Failure to do so will only result in higher costs for UK industry and higher prices for UK consumers."

He added: "Given that almost everything we consume every day is the product of a lorry journey, then higher fuel prices contribute to price rises for everything else we buy. The Government cannot do much about the world price of oil, but it can reduce UK duty to bring it closer in line with the rest of Europe.



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