Sort out facts!
Page 19
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
CONFLICTING statements from both sides of the political fence on heavy vehicle taxation have been criticised by the Road Haulage Association.
Statements from the Labour Party which claimed that heavy lorries must pay their way have been slammed as "vote-catching" and designed to gain limited support from members of the public who were not fully informed of the facts.
"The public should appreciate that Britain's economy depends unavoidably upon the work of heavy vehicles and that any rise in the existing levels of road fund taxes will have to be met by increases in the prices of all goods.
"Hauliers could not absorb the additional costs," says the REA.
The contrast also existed between the Labour Party statement and the Government statement that heavy lorries are now paying their way, but even that admission did not go far enough because the allocation of road expenditure to heavy vehicles was very disputable.