Groups join to tackle Brown on fuel tax
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by Guy Sheppard Leaning trade associations are teaming up to make a joint submission to Chancellor Gordon Brown about the need to cut road transport costs in his next Budget.
The Freight Transport Association, the Confederation of British Industry, the National Farmers Union and the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders began secret talks in the immediate aftermath of last month's fuel protest.
A joint submission would be unprecedented; it would have to be made before Brown makes his pre-Budget statement, either at the end of this month or early in November. But there are doubts whether all the groups will subscribe to it because they represent such diverse interests.
The SMMT is more concerned about the implications of congestion charging and tax ing workplace parking than fuel tax. "A joint submission is only a possibility," says an SMMT spokesman. "Fuel is not really something we have been looking into."
However, a spokeswoman for the CBI says hauliers' concerns about fuel tax closely match its own. "For a long time the CBI has been looking at issues concerning transport, and the tax on diesel is one of them," she explains. "As an organisation representing business, one of our key concerns is the commercial use of transport."
Geoff Dossetter, head of external affairs for the FM, agrees that a joint statement is still only a possibility "Our strategy is all about a reduction in diesel costs for goods vehicle operators," he says. "We have always had this policy and we have no brief to represent the interests of car drivers."