Cut dery tax:
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AR FROM keeping the tax on diesel oil and petrol at the same level, he Government should encourage the use of dery by taxing it less eavily, Confederation of British Road Passenger Transport direcr-general Denis Quin claimed this week.
In a letter to Chancellor of the xchequer Sir Geoffrey Howe, r Quin said: "We were enouraged that last year you rectied the injustice of the higher te of fuel duty paid by industal road users as compared with rivate motorists.
"We would have hoped that, is year, following your assessent of industry's needs, you vould have recognised, as is the :ase in other countries, the logic )f differentiating in favour of the :ommercial user."
And Mr Quin accused the Gov!rnment of imposing a "crushrig increase" of 44 per cent on he industry's operating costs at time when it will have difficulty ecovering these additional harges from its customers.
He said there seemed to be a lap between the Government's Ttentions and the execution of he Budget. On one hand, it said he interests of industry would lest be served by maintaining Liel duty rates at their present
'HE BUDGET's increase in ,ehicle excise duty mean that he base rate of tax for a 20-seat Pus or coach goes up by £5 to :35.
Larger vehicles will pay £35 this 70p for each additional .eat. This represents a 10p inTease in the seat tax.
For a 53-seater, the rate of luty goes up from £49.80 to :58.10; for a 57-seater, it is up rom £52.20 to £60.90; and for a '5-seater, it is up from £63 to :73.50. level, yet the 20p extra duty came at a time when industry paid more than the national norm in fuel duty.
Mr Quin accepted that stage carriage services receive a 100 per cent fuel duty rebate, but he said they too were suffering from cutbacks in local authority support at a time when the recession is cutting fares revenue by up to ten per cent.
He also asked the Chancellor to clarify the position on tax relief for company employees whose fares are paid by their employer. He said the Budget speech "seemed to intimate" that travel benefit for those earning under £8,500 would remain tax free, but he wants this confirmed urgently.