1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100
101
102
103
104
105
106
107
108
109
110
111
112
113
114
115
116
117
118
119
120
121
122
123
124
125
126
127
128
129
130
131
132
133
134
135
136
137
138
139
140 
Cut fuel tax!
Page 7
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
• The RHA has called on the government to take action over fuel duty, claiming there is now "irrefutable evidence" that the UK's tax regime is both unfair and damaging.
The trade association maintains that the findings of its latest policy paper, Fair Play on Fuel: Towards Parity with Europe, are so conclusive that they cannot be ignored. it is calling on the government to reduce diesel duty by 4p/lit. The RHA says this could be done by raising VAT on fuel to 25% for business users—this system would allow hauliers to reclaim the VAT.
"It is still a fact that we pay more for fuel than anywhere else in Europe," says RHA chief executive Roger King. "If you take away road haulage there is no business and no civilisation—we have been looking at the impact of high fuel prices on the sector and the UK economy" Professor Douglas McWilliams, who carried out the study, says it reveals an industry with failing employment and rising bankruptcies. He warns that the Exchequer is also losing out because some UK drivers are filling up on the Continent or in the Republic of Ireland where fuel is cheaper: "The government is getting very little revenue for quite a considerable cost—they are not getting as much money because so much of it leaches out."
He slams a government survey indicating that few foreign hauliers are taking advantage of their lower fuel prices to Operate in the UK: "It is worth less than the paper it's written on—the way it was carried out is flawed and the survey is inconsistent with all other sources of information. The government is irresponsible to base policy on this survey."