Be fair, Nigel!
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THE ROAD Haulage Association is urging Chancellor of the Exchequer Nigel Lawson "to be fair to hauliers" in his spring Budget. It has told him that a haulier's efficiency is dependent "to a large extent on measures which are taken by the Chancellor".
The RHA attacked last year's 10 per cent "arbitrary surcharge" for hauliers — the increase in vehicle excise duty — and stresses that it sees "no justification for imposing any additional tax on road haulage as well as that strictly related to track costs".
The submission goes on to argue that road haulage is "responsible and essential". It should not be taxed for social reasons, like gambling, smoking and drinking. Otherwise, there should be equal treatment for other environmentally damaging industr i e S.
Where some vehicles enjoy special treatment — such as farmers' vehicles, which are often used in competition with professional hauliers' vehicles, equal ved should be introduced.
The RHA says at the moment a 38-tonne articulated vehicle pays ved of £3,100, whereas a farmer's vehicle of the same weight pays £1,020.
The Government and RHA should continue their dialogue on track cost assessment and establish "clear guidelines for the level of taxation for the future". Only this way will hauliers be able to plan for future investment, the submission says. It wants the Government to slow down its phasing out of first-year capital allowances against corporation tax, scheduled at present for 1986, as it believes that the current programme will hurt capital-intensive hauliers whose profits are relatively low.
To support its case, it is conducting a survey of its members to establish how they will be affected by the change