Fuel protest

[pal4life]

Is it about time that the nation stood up to the government over the excessive duty imposed on petrol and diesel ?
What could we do as a nation if enough people got involved?

 

[newhaven seagull 85]

any protest against the price of fuel ultimately effects solely the retailers who make very little on petrol,it has very little effect on the oil companies or the government,and as the price is dictated by the world oil price there is very little that can be done. the government still needs to get in its taxes to pay off the deficit and to keep services running .

 

[severnside gull]

what would you rather pay additional taxes on to make up the lost revenue?

I guess VAT on food would be a start?



Seriously, I think the government could have held back on recent rises at least and found the income from other streams but they can justify them as part of an overall "green" policy (a joke I know) but there is a moral argument for drivers paying additional taxes. I do believe UK based food and clothing transport companies should get tax discounts to reduce costs though.

 

[TimWatt]

Petrol is cheap.... and it comes from dangerous places thousands of miles away, and it's running out. £1.31.9 a litre at Tesco on Monday last time I drove.
This Shariz, by contrast, I'm drinking right now was £5.99 for 0.7l at Tesco. Yes, it's from Australia but it's 2010 vintage and there's more growing to replace it.
Protest?
Why worry....

 

[Westdene Seagull]

any protest against the price of fuel ultimately effects solely the retailers who make very little on petrol,it has very little effect on the oil companies or the government,and as the price is dictated by the world oil price there is very little that can be done. the government still needs to get in its taxes to pay off the deficit and to keep services running .

What a load of bollocks !!!! You should have read the original post properly - he's complaining about the DUTY. The DUTY is determined by the government and should be frozen for at least two years. Duty makes up around 70% of the price we pay at the pump. To make it worse the government first adds fuel duty to the cost of a litre and then charges VAT on that duty - double taxation !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Westdene Seagull]

what would you rather pay additional taxes on to make up the lost revenue?

I guess VAT on food would be a start?



Seriously, I think the government could have held back on recent rises at least and found the income from other streams but they can justify them as part of an overall "green" policy (a joke I know) but there is a moral argument for drivers paying additional taxes. I do believe UK based food and clothing transport companies should get tax discounts to reduce costs though.

The problem being that many people need to drive to work ( public transport has been run into the ground over the last decade or so ). If people can't afford to get to work then it actually costs the state more.

 

[pipkin112]

I think a 3p a litre rise is due in next months budget.

 

[Captain Sensible]

The amount of duty on fuel is a disgrace. They just keep adding on the pence even with all rises in Oil prices. It cost me £76 quid to fill up my car today!!! It's terrible. Also I'm pissed off at yet another broken promise from Cameron, that there would be a duty and price matrix which would reduce duty when the oil price went up. As soon as interest rates rise at the end of this or beginning of next year, the ordinary joe will really be f***ed.

 

[ferring seagull]

Any Government, at this point in time, would be in an unenviable position given that they have to attempt, under great difficulty, to balance the books. Tax is either raised this way or by some other means, no doubt as distasteful to some or other group of citizens.

Reverting to the OP, people either pay more for petrol which, in some cases, is a luxury OR they resort to public transport which, frankly, will not be able to pick up that much slack and that is the tightrope the Government have to walk !

 

[BadFish]

What a load of bollocks !!!! You should have read the original post properly - he's complaining about the DUTY. The DUTY is determined by the government and should be frozen for at least two years. Duty makes up around 70% of the price we pay at the pump. To make it worse the government first adds fuel duty to the cost of a litre and then charges VAT on that duty - double taxation !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

But how will they pay for the wars in oil producing countries so they can charge duty on the imported petrol?

 

[Barrel of Fun]

What a load of bollocks !!!! You should have read the original post properly - he's complaining about the DUTY. The DUTY is determined by the government and should be frozen for at least two years. Duty makes up around 70% of the price we pay at the pump. To make it worse the government first adds fuel duty to the cost of a litre and then charges VAT on that duty - double taxation !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

58%/60%

Britain tops European league table for fuel tax - Telegraph

Osborne is refusing to cut duty as 'we can't afford it'. Perhaps we need to start thinking about alternative ways to raise funds?

I've offset the price increases by using the car for only necessary journeys, which saves a lot, but the company I work for is being squeezed by rising costs which then has a knock on effect in the shape of wages and so on.

High time we produced stuff in this country to sell and stopped squeezing small and over worked small businesses ad finitum.

Another point, £4 is a ludicrous amount to charge for public transport in Brighton. It only needs two of you and it is cheaper to travel by car and park somewhere. Whilst moaning about fuel prices, I would rather moan about public transport costs. If you know where to park (for free) in Brighton, it is infinitely cheaper to drive in and then walk a short distance to the centre.

 

[newhaven seagull 85]

What a load of bollocks !!!! You should have read the original post properly - he's complaining about the DUTY. The DUTY is determined by the government and should be frozen for at least two years. Duty makes up around 70% of the price we pay at the pump. To make it worse the government first adds fuel duty to the cost of a litre and then charges VAT on that duty - double taxation !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

good evening westdean i said that protesting ultimately effects the retailer who makes bugger all out of retailing petrol ,and whilst i agree that the duty on fuel is ridiculously high there is nothing that can be done about it without putting up other taxes ,slashing services cutting benefits . Yes lets not put up the fuel esculator by inflation you are then making the debt situation worse,ultimately its a no win situation whether the duty goes up or not ,as we all will have to pay some other way through some other tax.its shit i know but thats life!

 

[BadFish]

Any Government, at this point in time, would be in an unenviable position given that they have to attempt, under great difficulty, to balance the books. Tax is either raised this way or by some other means, no doubt as distasteful to some or other group of citizens.

Reverting to the OP, people either pay more for petrol which, in some cases, is a luxury OR they resort to public transport which, frankly, will not be able to pick up that much slack and that is the tightrope the Government have to walk !

Or they get a bike and get some exercise while they travel to work.

 

[Barrel of Fun]

Or they get a bike and get some exercise while they travel to work.

'tis a good idea. Works if one has access to cleaning facilities, but not perfect for everyone/vast majority of people.

 

[severnside gull]

The problem being that many people need to drive to work ( public transport has been run into the ground over the last decade or so ). If people can't afford to get to work then it actually costs the state more.

Except in rural areas that is very hard to actually justify as an argument but we could create jobs by reinvigorating mass transport systems (buses/trains); give incentives for car sharing schemes; increase inner city parking charges and tax non-sharing company parking spaces, and ban non-resident private car parking from a radius of half a mile around any school. It would cut peoples' expenditure on fuel, address some of the green-consciousness issues,and give people something different to moan about........... like "infringement of their human rights"probably!

 

[grummitts gloves]

The government see fuel tax as a case of you use it, you pay for it. There aren't many other things they can tax for compensating the money they would lose by reducing petrol/ diesel prices,

However, I do think they should reduce the tax for HGV's as its killing their business and the opportunity to be competitive and help UK business thrive.

Too much time has passed to find viable taxable alternatives to tax on fuel, it was a mistake to hike it so high all those years ago.

It does make you sick to think a litre of petrol in Saudi is cheaper than a litre of bottled water!

I would prefer it if we as a country looked to save money in other ways to reduce fuel prices, i.e. foreign aid, benefits, immigration etc.

No I don't read the daily mail or express, nor am I a racist. I do believe that the government wastes alot of uk taxpayers money regardless of whether they are labour, Tory or otherwise. Time to grow a pair and look after the people whilst telling the likes of Brussels, Germany etc to do one!




Sent from my iPhone using my fingers.

 

[Barrel of Fun]

Except in rural areas that is very hard to actually justify as an argument but we could create jobs by reinvigorating mass transport systems (buses/trains); give incentives for car sharing schemes; increase inner city parking charges and tax company parking spaces, and ban non-resident private car parking from a radius of half a mile around any school. It would cut peoples' expenditure on fuel, address some of the green-consciousness issues,and give people something different to moan about........... like "infringement of their human rights"probably!

True, true. When I lived in London, I did a carshare to Redhill. Being a bit of a bore, I used to count the number of single occupant cars trundling into London. It was in the region of 90% everyday, without fail. We humans need to learn to adapt.

I feel very sorry for the self-employed whom rely on a vehicle to carry out their work. Tradesmen are facing a £720 pa permit (100% increase) on top of rising fuel prices.

 

[Herr Tubthumper]

Another point, £4 is a ludicrous amount to charge for public transport in Brighton. It only needs two of you and it is cheaper to travel by car and park somewhere. Whilst moaning about fuel prices, I would rather moan about public transport costs. If you know where to park (for free) in Brighton, it is infinitely cheaper to drive in and then walk a short distance to the centre.

This. £4 is bloody ridiculous. If there are 3 of us it's about the same price to get a taxi into town. 4 and a taxi is cheaper than a bus, which isn't right.

 

[newhaven seagull 85]

The government see fuel tax as a case of you use it, you pay for it. There aren't many other things they can tax for compensating the money they would lose by reducing petrol/ diesel prices,

However, I do think they should reduce the tax for HGV's as its killing their business and the opportunity to be competitive and help UK business thrive.

Too much time has passed to find viable taxable alternatives to tax on fuel, it was a mistake to hike it so high all those years ago.

It does make you sick to think a litre of petrol in Saudi is cheaper than a litre of bottled water!

I would prefer it if we as a country looked to save money in other ways to reduce fuel prices, i.e. foreign aid, benefits, immigration etc.

No I don't read the daily mail or express, nor am I a racist. I do believe that the government wastes alot of uk taxpayers money regardless of whether they are labour, Tory or otherwise. Time to grow a pair and look after the people whilst telling the likes of Brussels, Germany etc to do one!


Sent from my iPhone using my fingers.

personnaly all hgv's and lgv's should be allowed to use gas oil as this would reduce prices in shops and could help the retail economy.

 

[severnside gull]

.
I do believe that the government wastes alot of uk taxpayers money regardless of whether they are labour, Tory or otherwise.

that point I agree with and my somewhat tongue in cheek comments are a suggestion that there are alternatives based around coherent and comprehensive policies but that they will not win votes and are more complex to manage so simply will not happen.