MPs reject duty harm
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• A long-awaited report by MPs into the impact of fuel taxes on British industry says there is no "conclusive proof that high levels of duty are putting hauliers out of business.
The cross-parliamentary Trade and Industry Select Committee launched its investigation in the aftermath of last September's fuel protests.
It claims UK business as a whole is no less competitive as a result of paying higher levels of petrol and diesel taxes than in other countries. However, the report does support some of the protesters key arguments: it blames high taxation for losing UK hauliers their competitive edge against European rivals on international journeys; and confirms that the steady increase in real fuel prices over the past decade has been entirely and intentionally the result of government taxation policies".
The committee slams the government for justifying the tax rises on environmental grounds when it has no valid means of measuring whether they are leading to any environmental improvements. But some of its other findings will infuriate hauliers.
On cabotage, the committee says there is "no evidence that non-UK hauliers are responsible for more than a small volume of freight carriage within the UK". On insolvency and bankruptcy of hauliers it says: "There is a dearth of official statistical evidence to prove conclusively that this has occurred," although it adds that the government should "clear up this confusion".
The report was published four months after the main hearings due to a 'backlog of work" and a government reshuffle.