North East economic recovery hindered by bill for fuel tax

Mar 15 2010 by Kerry Wood, The Journal

He believes there needs to come a point when the Government has to stop raising fuel duty and recognise the key role the haulage industry plays in the UK. He said: “Fuel duty was supposed to be an environmentally friendly tax to keep people off the roads.

“We have a problem with that because we are providing an essential service for the industry and the customer whether taking car parts to Nissan or taking good to supermarkets.

“The buses get a rebate as they are recognised as an essential service and we need some kind of recognition.

“It is time the Government backed off from taxing the haulage industry and look at how it is impacting on the regions. There comes a point where enough is enough.

“When VAT came down last year to 15% the Government put up fuel duty so the cost of fuel did not become any cheaper. When VAT went back up they did not lower the duty again so they effectively put in another increase.”

The Chamber is calling for the Government to consider the economic impact a rise in fuel duty would have on the North East.

Based on a per tonne basis the region’s fuel duty contribution is 18% higher than the average for all English regions.

Mr Ramsbotham said: “We want them to take a more flexible approach by reviewing fuel duty on an annual basis while bearing in mind the influence any increases will have on the future prosperity of the regions.”