Accountants Grant Thornton forecasts the taxes from the soaring fuel prices will bring Chancellor of the Exchequer Alistair Darling £34bn, of which basic fuel duty at more than 50p a litre will come to £25.7bn, while rising oil prices will lift the VAT on fuel to an additional £8.5bn, totaling the equivalent of almost £4m an hour.

The windfall led to fresh calls last night for Prime Minister Gordon Brown to act to slash duty.

Roger King, Road Haulage Association chief executive, described VAT on fuel as the ultimate stealth taxi.

King urged the government to cancel a 2p rise in duty in the autumn and to use VAT receipts to cap prices. He also warned protests by lorry drivers could turn violent.

Road Pricing – driving the debate forward

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