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Pass it on
Page 3
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You can always trust the Bible for a good quote. Having heard Alistair Darling's depressing pre-Budget report, those who had to sit through Sunday School might have remembered the book of Job. "The Lord gave, and the Lord bath taken away..." Only, as usual, for Britain's 50,000 truck operators, there's been precious little receiving.
Whatever a 2.5% reduction in VAT might do, it certainly won't offset a corresponding hike in fuel duty and
a 1.84-pence-per-Ltre jump next April.
"An outrageous smack in the teethraged the RHA. "A disgraceful targeting of commercial vehicles" volleyed the ETA. Yet, CM thinks that despite all the meetings with politicians, presentations to the Treasury and public demos, the two trade ,Associations have again been unable to persuade the Chancellor that truck operators should be treated any differently from the rest of the fuel-tax paying Population. Maybe it's time they both met to find an answer to the unpalatable, but fundamental, question: "Why can't we persuade the Treasury to treat us better?"
Perhaps it's naive to think hauliers would escape their share of the pain. Only lately this industry has done more than its fair share of giving — which is why it's time for hauliers to do a little 'taking'. And why we endorse the ETA's analysis that: "...consumers will end up paying more to cover transport costs of items such as food, clothing, and white goods.'" Why shouldn't they? The 'Great British Consumer' has been living off the back of cheap road transport for decades. Over
taxed operators shouldn't lose steep over putting their prices up in response to fuel duty hikes. Right now it's about survival. And whatever the 'Great British Consumer' gets from Mr Darting's latest proclamation, the message for every truck operator should be: "Pass it on!"
Brian Weatherley