FSB calls on Chancellor for fuel duty relief
Small business is calling on the Chancellor to share windfall from fuel duty on soaring oil prices
Small business in Britain is angered that millions of pounds of unexpected
revenue is flowing into the government’s coffers while Gordon Brown plans
another 2p per litre hike in fuel duty.
The Federation of
Small Businesses is calling on the chancellor to share the tax proceeds of
higher than predicted North Sea oil prices with hard-pressed, consumers,
motorists and small business owners.
The FSB and accountants
Grant Thornton
have joined forces in a study which shows that, in just 50 days since the
budget, the oil price averaged $US108 (£55) a barrel, giving the Treasury £450m
more in revenue than the budget forecast based on $US84 a barrel.
According to Maurice Fitzpatrick, a Grant Thornton tax expert, for every $US4
a barrel by which oil exceeds the predicted price, HM Treasury receives an extra
£1.5m a day.
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