Your Comments

A multilateral approach to fuel tax, instead of Britain going it alone with a unilateral approach, would make our prices rise in line with the rest of Europe and the world. There would be agreement about the taxes needed to try to reduce CO2 emissions, and toxic emissions like sulphur dioxide. The results would be:
1. similar fuel prices all over the world, or at least in Europe;
2. fair treatment for British people, instead of having to pay more;
3. less resentment by Britons at having our own oil reserves for over twenty years yet receiving none of the benefits, all of which went to successive governments;
4. fair treatment for business, having similar transport costs here instead of having higher costs than all their rivals in the EU, undermining their competitiveness;
5. to give companies less reason to close down here, or outsource to other countries where transport costs are lower, so saving jobs.

I would have to take issue with the statement that fuel tax is used to force changes in use of vehicles and raise revenue. Whilst it does raise revenue it cannot influence vehicle use for me or most other people near me.
Living in the Bristol are where there is no economically viable alternative to using a private car (- it costs £400.00 p.a. for my son to get to school by Bus (No the LEA will not pay as he is in 6th form)) no matter what tax is added to fuel I have no option but to pay it.
In order to be used as a method of influencing vehicle use there would firstt have to be a viable alternative. This is true for everyone - not just disabled drivers such as myself.

Instead of taxes us under different headings would it not be cheaper, cost effective to have one tax rate on all sources of income.

It would reduce Revenue costs/ civil servents because tax would be deducted at source. less admin etc.

Form UK Plc - get rid of unproductive civil servants/MP's - appoint directors with specific responsibility - pay them well & get best people for the job. Democracy is intact with public being shareholders.

Sounds Simple - Doesn't it.

I think that if the government put 1p on a litre of fuel every motorist would pay there way. Then abolish road tax so that it catches all the tax dodgers

These ridiculous fuel taxes serve only one purpose and that is to enable the government to continue to squander money. Is global warming real? Sure it is. Only problem is it is part of a natural cycle that cannot be stopped. No matter what anybody says. Maybe we have contributed to speed it up a little, but there's nothing that can be done to change that.
What has convinced me of this? Look at what the government has done with the billions of pounds it steals from motorists across Britain. Have they gone on a reforestation spree? No they haven't. In fact they want to build more polluting homes on land where forests once stood. Have they invested heavily on alternative fuel research? No they don't. Those pathetic wind farms don't count. The wind is either too strong or too weak to run them to the point of maximum efficiency. The ones near here are not moving most of the time for those very reasons. Besides, the technology has existed for hundreds of years (windmills) and the government doesn't spend anything to build them ... the power companies do. (I wonder if they get tax breaks for those things that they put on public land!)
The worst thing is that I have no option but to run my car. It would take me 2 hours to get to work and another 2 to get home on public transport. In my car, I manage to get there in half an hour. Same goes for my return journey. I need to spend time with my family! What is life if I couldn't!?
Here's what really gets me. We are forced to pay taxes as a penalty for using fuel. What alternatives are there??? If there was one, I would be the first to use it. At least there would be another option. The idea of punishing someone for using something is to encourage use of a different thing. We are basically being robbed!! The government has absolutely no idea what they are doing!! Further proof is that next week they will start to raise taxes because kids are getting drunk. How funny is that?? Now, instead of getting drunk, kids will start buying drugs and drinking all sort of dangerous things.

Global Warming is far from the issue!! I firmly believe that it is a quick and easy way for the government to squeeze money out of the low earners of this country. I guarantee you that if a politician had to spend one month living on my budget they would understand just how hard it is. They would also understand that this constant fuel rise has a catastrophic knock on effect throughout anyone's monthly budget.

This time last year I never had to worry about how I was going to get to work, pay for food, pay for clothing etc. My fuel bill has risen from £25.00 per week to £40.00 per week.

Only 3 months ago I could buy butter for £0.43, and now it costs £0.83.

Clothes are so expensive that I now have to shop for clothes for both my son and I in second hand shops, whereas this time last year I had disposible income which could be spent in such a way.

When is the government going to wake up and realise that the people of "Great" Britain are falling, and they are falling fast.

They would be wise to remember Lennin who said "a country is only three meals away from revolution".

I cannot be the only person who is two meals short every day. One more and I will not be able to wait the 2 years for a General Election to get "back door" Brown out of office.