W e're being penalised twice—we pay taxes in the UK and
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then we go abroad and pay again! That aptly sums up the "heads we win—tails you lose" tax burden currently being shouldered by UK-based international operators. And that load looks like getting heavier, if the latest proclamation from EU Transport Commissioner Neil Kinnock is anything to go by. If the proposed additional "eco-tax" of £1,500 comes in on top of the planned Eurovignette price hike along with increased pay-as-you go road tolls, then a lot of international operators will be left wondering where the money is going to come from to pay for it. It's unlikely that their customers will want to pick up the bills. So why should a UK-based international operator have to pay the full VED rate for his truck, and then pay again to run on EU roads, when his vehicles are spending the majority of their time outside the UK? British businessmen who spend a significant amount of time working outside the UK, and have to pay tax where they're working, are given relief on their UK income tax.
Why not apply the same principle to international operators and British VED? Otherwise they'll end up paying not just twice, but three or even four times over.
ne good piece of news is the discount being offered to those hauliers who run green trucks. But the 20% reduction being offered to operators running on motorways in Germany, Denmark and the Benelux countries has to be set against the £2,000 average price premium that the truck manufacturers are charging for Euro-2 models.
What's really galling is that apart from the occasional bridge or tunnel toll, Continental operators get off scot-free in the UK. And no-one can convince us that their trucks are in any way less environmentally intrusive than a British-registered vehicle in the Alps. There's nothing certain in haulage except death and taxes.