Darling reaps £34bn from soaring fuel prices
Grant Thornton forecasts fuel taxes on soaring petrol prices will bring Darling £34bn
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
Further reading: