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Proof UK hauliers pay too much tax
Page 6
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A Heriot-Watt study reveals that the tax hauliers pay more than covers their road and environmental costs. Roanna Avison reports.
ROAD HAULIERS pay more than their fair share to cover the cost of the infrastructural and environmental damage they cause.
According to a report by HeriotWatt University, the taxes paid by operators in the UK meet these 'external costs with cash left over to line the Treasury's pockets Alan McKinnon, logistics professor at Heriot-Watt and the author of the report, says: This is the first time that research has shown that hauliers pay their way for infrastructural and environmental costs. A large part of this is down to improving Euro standards, better fuel efficiency and better noise standards."
As a result of this, he says, the environmental footprint of the road transport sector is smaller than it used to be. This, combined with high UK taxesmeans that the costs are more than covered.
Heriot-Watt estimates that the 'external' costs of LGVs in the UK are f7.1bn a year. This does not include 'internal' costs such as fuel, VED and vehicle maintenance.
Of the overall external costs attributed to LGVs, 40% is said to come from congestion. 23% from infrastructure, 19% from accidents, 15% from air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions and 2% from noise.
The report found that the duties and taxes paid by road transport operators cover an average of 67% of the total external costs created by British-registered LGVs.
However, McKinnon adds that if congestion is taken out of the equation, the taxes currently paid by UK road haulage operators exceed the value of all the external costs for all LGVs apart from artics over 33 tonnes— which cover 99% of their costs. In 2006 the average truck in the UK paid 12% more in duties and taxes than its allocated infrastructural and environmental costs (excluding congestion costs). McKinnon warns that one result of UK operators paying over the odds is that the domestic market is vulnerable to foreign operators that cover less of their external costs.
The report adds that even though duties and taxes in the UK are very high, they would still need to be raised by another 50% to fully cover all the external costs of the road A freight sector. such as A McKinnon: Hauliers pay their way congestion and accidents.
If the government were to provide additional road space and/or use traffic-management measures to relieve congestion, costs would be reduced and the degree of internalisation increased, the report concludes.
McKinnon says: "Given the importance of road freight transport to the national economy,this would probably prove a more effective transport strategy than taxing LGVs more heavily. And the more operators are taxed, the less likely they are to be able to afford to upgrade their trucks to more efficient and environmentally friendly versions."
• For the full findings of the report see Investigation on page 28.
www.roadtransport.comicm