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!.t. "Now we're making even ss money," it says. "It has Ttainly made an impact." Jim Hope of Carlisle is at the her end of the market. He Is two special types, and he determined to keep them in isiness despite the higher ming costs. "It's not worth wing special types now," he €ys, but he doubts if many )erators will actually drop out " the heavy haulage sector. Brooksbank Heavy Haulage ,rvices of Hull, which has ur specials, is confident of isorbing the extra costs over long period — but it slams le "sneaky" way only 14 days' }Lice was given for operators buy the dearer licences, ithout letting existing tax scs run out. New heavy wfiers will be scarce, it says, cause "it will cost so much ) come into the industry in €ture."
Chris Bennett of C Bennett's ransport, Stockport, actually sins to increase his special rpes fleet with an extra truck ids year, but admits that :aying in the industry after the udget increase is "getting )stly". He says it will certain' affect his profits. More rises could be on the cards at the next Budget. The Dip is still believed to be considering hiking the cost of the tax disc for specials — possibly up to £3,000. It says that Government policy is that "all classes of vehicle should pay in motoring taxation (vehicle excise duty and fuel duty combined) at least their allocated track costs".
Not all heavy hauliers are aghast at the rise, however. Peterborough Heavy Haulage of Yaxley reckons the increase was overdue: "It had to come one day. It was an absolute anomaly that vehicles that weight were running around for 2130," it says, and claims that the rise can be absorbed by most hauliers quite easily and that its effect is negligible.
Syd Wood of S Wood Heavy Haulage, which runs four specials, is outraged at the way the tax was imposed when special types hauliers pay so much in fuel duty. "We only do three or four miles to the gallon (about 71 litres/100kms), and if they only looked twice at the amount these hauliers use on diesel they might think twice," he says.