All-round Disappointment Expressed
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nISAPPOINTMENT was expressed by operators' associations after the Chancellor of the Exchequer made no concessions to the road transport industry in his Budget statement on Monday. Reactions were as follows:— Road Haulage Association: "There is deep disappointment by all our members that the Chancellor has made no reduction or concession to our industry. Even a small reduction in vehicle taxation, which will bring in £600m this year, would have helped to reduce the cost of transport, with subsequent benefits to the community as a whole." Municipal Passenger Transport Association: " It is a strong disappointment." Traders' Road Transport Association: "We are sorry that the Chancellor has not
would be more conducive to an all-round cheapening of costs than to lighten some of the transport charges of trade and industry."
British Road Federation: "As the Chancellor has not seen fit to reduce the burden of taxation on road users, the Federation calculate that these taxes will this year for the first time pass the E600m. mark. This is a monstrous burden, especially when it is remembered that in no other country in Europe, indeed in the world, is there so poor a relationship between the taxes paid by the road user and Government expenditure on the roads themselves."
Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders: The S.M.M.T. had no comment about the unchanged fuel tax, but regretted the continued purchase tax on cars.