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NOVEMBER 2003
Page 22
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Vehicle excise duty
The FTA says that vehicle excise duty in the UK remains one of the highest rates in Europe.
The current VED for a 44-tonne truck costs £1,850, which is nearly quadruple that payable in France. It is also more than 40% higher than Germany's, and over 30% higher than in Ireland, The FTA contends that charging UK drivers such a high VED rate directly affects competitiveness against foreign operators.
Fuel duty
Apart from paying the driver, fuel is the single biggest cost incurred when running a truck. Diesel represents 34% of the total operating costs of a 44-tonne artic and 22% of an 18-tonne rigid.
The FTA says that in October 70% of the price of diesel comprised fuel duty This compares with 60% in France, 55% in the Netherlands and 51% in Belgium. The UK government's fuel-duty hike last month added C170m to industry's annual freight transport bill, and the association says the rise in fuel duty added £500 to the cost of running a 40-tonne truck.
That equates tc an increase of 1% where margins average 3%.