BUDGET SHOCK FOR ROAD TRANSPORT
Page 36
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By S. BUCKLEY, Assoc Inst T "1 THEREFORE propose a general increase of 50 per cent in all the rates on goods I vehicles and associated vehicles." In those brief, blunt words the Chancellos of the Exchequer, Mr. James Callaghan, proposed yet another penal addition to the cost of operating goods vehicles in his budget on Tuesday by way of this increase in excise duty.
Examples of what operators will now have to pay to licence their vehicles are given in the accompanying table.
Other changes in vehicle excise duties include an increase in the annual tax or motorcars from £15 to £17 10s.
luasaicIpanucltuts aq lot osje oar sappiaa. spoo0 uo itinp osroxa Jo sairos seven are to be reduced to three: normal goods vehicles; farmers' goods vehicles; anc a general concessionary schedule.
Electrically propelled goods vehicles are now classed along with showmen's good: vehicles with a commencing annual rate of duty of £18 when the unladen weigh does not exceed 12 cwt. Duty on a general trade licence is increased from £30 te £45 whilst a limited licence goes up from £6 to O.
As exemplified in editorial comment on page 33, an operator of a 20-vehicl fleet could have from £465 to £1,500, according to the size of vehicle, added t his annual expenditure by Tuesday's announcement. However much the Chancellc —and others—may express this increase in terms of "capacity ton miles" or an other divisor, hauliers up and down-the country will still have to find annually whi to them are large additional amounts of money.
Similarly, the addition to the price of consumer goods in the shops resuItir from the licence duty increase can be statistically shown to be relatively smal
But every increase is an addition and, moreover, road transport is inevitably involve in all stages of manufacture from basic products to finished articles. Such addition: transport costs are therefore cumulative, often at least sevenfold.
As might be expected, the operator associations were incensed at the new tax rates.
The Road Haulage Association was "shocked and surprised" and said the Chancellor appeared to have prejudged the issue now being considered by the_ Geddes Committee and Lord Hinton on the matter of road user costs.
This point was made also by the Traders Road Transport Association, who commented that the increase in tax distorted the competitive position of road transport in relation to the railways and "must inevitably take us further away from a rational transport policy ".
Both associations pointed out that the increase would be reflected in prices.