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More opposition to 2p duty hike...
Page 7
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THE BRITISH Chambers of Commerce (BCC) says its open letter calling on the Chancellor to scrap the proposed 2p/lit increase in fuel duty has attracted "phenomen al" support from more than 700 businesses.
The government plans to introduce the increase on 1 April despite increasingly tough trading conditions for operators and evidence of an economic slowdown. The tax increase will cost the industry an estimated 2170m.
In a letter to Chancellor Alistair Darling, the BCC says it would welcome the opportunity to discuss an alternative pricing system which separates the way fuel tax is levied for commercial vehicles and for car users.
N BCC spokesman reports that almost half of the country's regional Chambers of Commerce have written to the Chancellor, including Cambridgeshire ('Fuel duty must not rise, say operators', CM 24 January). He says BCC wants to spark a debate on alternative taxing sys tems: "We hope it keeps the issue on the agenda. The importance of the commercial logistics industry to the UK is vital. if we don't look at assisting them a lot [of firms] will go out of business."
The Freight Transport Association is commissioning a study into how an alternative scheme might work. A spokesman says: "We've seen a fundamental shift in the past 12 months.
"This time last year the industry wasn't happy about fuel prices but it was coping," he adds. "This time this year we are getting the impression that the bill has gone up so substantially it has impacted on everybody, which causes a major problem. The very least [the Chancellor] can do is scrap the 2p/lit increase"