Petrol tax rises hitting British drivers harder than rest of Europe

BRITAIN'S drivers are having to dig deep into their pockets to pay recent petrol tax increases up to five times higher than in other European countries.

Since the Pre-Budget Report at the end of November 2008, the burden of fuel duty and VAT on a tank of petrol in the UK has gone up 11.46 per cent, compared with just 2.23 per cent in Austria, the AA said.

The average increase for ten European countries, including France, Germany, and Holland, was 5.07 per cent.

Last night, road industry chiefs and politicians said the increase was hitting rural areas of Scotland particularly hard where consumers were often charged more for fuel deliveries.

For UK diesel car owners, the fuel tax burden has increased 8.10 per cent – lower than the 8.33 per cent in Ireland but well above the 2.89 per cent average for the ten European countries.

The AA also pointed to the fact that from 1 April, UK drivers will face petrol pump increases that could add another 2.5p a litre to the price of petrol and diesel.

AA president Edmund King said: "Our research shows that most other European countries have resisted such fuel tax hikes over the past 15 months, and they have also had to deal with the fallout from the credit crunch.

"The Treasury admitted in the last Pre-Budget Report that the impact of higher fuel prices on demand will lower fuel duty receipts in 2009-10 by 0.2 billion below forecast."

Mr King added that the planned 1 April increase "could do more harm than good to the public purse, economic recovery, hauliers and car owners".

Phil Flanders, Road Haulage Association director for Scotland and Northern Ireland, said: "We are paying too much and the road haulage industry is already struggling. It is worse in remote areas, where some delivery companies are adding on 6p a litre for deliveries."

Angus MacNeil, MP, SNP Westminster spokesman for transport in Scotland, said: "It's not just hauliers who suffer but ordinary families struggling to run a car for normal use. The effects of sky-high fuel taxes also impact on prices in the stores with costs rising to deliver food to the shops.

"The SNP MPs will continue to oppose Labour's fuel tax hikes and propose the introduction of a fuel duty regulator at the Budget to ensure price stability as well as lower fuel taxes for remote areas."

Alison McInnes, the Scottish Lib Dem transport spokeswoman, said: "I'm greatly worried about the unfair burden this puts on rural areas in Scotland. It shows we are correct in calling for rural fuel derogation, which would allow countries to opt out of European law and vary the tax take in particular circumstances."