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f ta. goes up SMALL communities and sparsely-populated areas could. suffer if Government proposals to increase lorry taxation steeply go ahead. Jack Welsh, Scottish regional controller of the Freight Transport Association, speaking in Edinburgh, said the inescapable effect of proposals in the Government's consultation paper on transport, to increase lorry tax, would be to increase costs to the consumer.
Mr Welsh said the Association had already argued that heavy lorries already fully met their track costs, and there was no justification for an increase. He totally rejected the proposal for a "social" tax on lorries. "The proposed tax would be completely ineffective as it would offer no compensation to those adversely affected, and would create no incentive to reduce the effects of lorries' less attractive features."
Mr Welsh said the only real answer was to tackle the physical problems, to provide better roads, by-passes and improve vehicle design.