THE CHANCE TO GET EVEN?
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The imposition of Eurovignettes has long been a festering sore on British operators forced to pay to run on Continental roads while their counterparts from other EU states use ours scot-free. Considering the unacceptably high levels of fuel and vehicle excise duty currently imposed by the Treasury, Britain's international hauliers already feel they're paying twice over. So why aren't we charging foreign operators to use UK roads? Quite why HM Government has been so reticent to wander down this path is beyond most operators' understanding. Like Mrs Doasyouwouldbedoneby, we only want to be treated the same. That's exactly what the Road Haulage Association is proposing with its UK vignette plan. Under the scheme, which will be put to Chancellor Gordon Brown ahead of his Autumn Budget, not only will foreign operators have to pay to drive on UK roads; so will domestic operators. However, the British operators would then get a reduction in VED equivalent to whatever they pay for their vignettes. According to RHA director-general Steven Norris: "It wouldn't cost the Treasury a penny. They'd make extra money and it would equalise competitive costs between the UK and foreign industry." Sounds fine to us, except for some worrying "what ifs". For example, what if the Treasury says yes to a vignette scheme but no to a VED rebate? With the Chancellor looking for as much money as possible to deliver Labour's pre-election promises, he may see this as
an easy way to screw even more cash from British rood hauliers.
And what if he introduces a vignette scheme only for foreign operators and still does nothing about the swingeing rates of UK fuel tax and VED? Would British operators really be so much bet ter off for that? Norris will have
to use all his communication skills if the Treasury is to buy the com
plete package—and not just cherry-pick the parts that would leave British operators even more out of pocket.