It's Your Duty: PetrolPrices.com launch fuel tax campaign ahead of Budget
9th April 2009
(Aldershot, UK) PetrolPrices.com has launched a campaign to get motorists' voices and views on fuel tax heard before the 2009 Budget on April 22.
It's Your Duty is supported by the Freight Transport Association, the Road Haulage Association, Shiply and GEM Motoring Assist, and aims to:
- Stop a further rise in fuel tax in the 2009 Budget on April 22
- Make sure fuel tax is spent only on transport
- Get the Government to declare exactly what fuel tax is spent on
PetrolPrices.com is asking drivers to write an "individual, strongly worded and personal letter" to their MP via WriteToThem.com, and has a suggested list of issues to address to help motorists get their voices heard.
On 2 separate occasions more than 10,000 PetrolPrices.com members have expressed their anger at previous fuel tax hikes on the PetrolPrices.com blog. Members have appealed to the site to do something more to help motorists, and so It's Your Duty was set up.
Fuel tax is made up of 2 parts - a fixed duty (which rose by 1.84 pence per litre on April 1) which is added to the raw cost of the fuel, and a percentage VAT added on top (currently 15%, due to rise to 17.5% at the end of December 2009).
Fuel tax makes up around 71% of the cost of a litre of fuel. If fuel tax was abolished unleaded would cost around 27 pence per litre, rather than the 94 pence per litre it costs now. Diesel currently costs around 102 pence per litre.
Fuel duty has risen twice in the last 8 months, despite Gordon Brown promising not to raise fuel duty for "the full year" last July. View the video. (1.40m - 2.02m)
At the moment, fuel tax revenues do not have to be spent on transport. Tax paid at the pumps goes into a central Treasury pot, to be spent on anything the Government chooses.
The price of petrol has been rising steadily in 2009 - unleaded is up 9.6p from its lowest point of 85.9 pence in January, and diesel is up 4.4 pence from it's lowest point of 98.0 pence, also in January.
Anyone wanting to write to their MP should visit PetrolPrices.com/itsyourduty to find out more, and to use the site's Fuel Tax Calculator to find out how much fuel tax they pay each year. The campaign also has a Facebook group.
Louise Doherty of PetrolPrices.com said: "Drivers are fed up being the Government's cash cow and our campaign gives everyone an easy way to make their voice heard ahead of the Budget. If drivers are going to be taxed it's only fair that our tax is invested in transport, and that the Government is open with us about exactly what they're spending it on."
Jo Tanner of the Freight Transport Association said: "Far from being an answer to the recession, fuel duty hikes will put jobs in jeopardy and businesses in administration. If Mr Darling continues on this course he may as well sign workers' P45s himself."
Kate Gibbs of the Road Haulage Association said: "The duty increases imposed last Autumn and on 1 April, for the average road haulier, now equate to an extra £2000 per year! Fuel represents over a third of a hauliers' operating costs - these costs have to be passed on if they are to remain in business."
Robert Matthams of Shiply Ltd said: "The Government must recognise the important role the haulage industry has to play in improving the economic climate and help it, rather than punish it, by focusing on increasing its efficiency through utilising empty shipment space and helping develop greener fuels."
David Williams, Chief Executive of GEM Motoring Assist said: "We're happy to support PetrolPrices.com's campaign on behalf of our members - drivers didn't cause this recession, so it's not fair to raise fuel tax again to make them pay for it."
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Notes to editors
Where possible, please link to PetrolPrices.com in online articles.
Petrolprices.com is the only free fuel price comparison website with reliable data and regular updates. It allows consumers to search for the cheapest stations in their area, with potential savings of 20p a litre.
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Louise Doherty
PetrolPrices.com
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w: www.petrolprices.com
t: 01252 367208