The UK Freight Transport Association (FTA) has called on the Chancellor to cut fuel duty by at least 5p per litre and scrap the increase planned for August.
In its pre-Budget submission to the Treasury, the FTA argues that this could save consumers and businesses £3.6 billion and prove a vital shot in the arm for the UK’s ailing economy.
Following sustained and concerted lobbying by the FTA and its partners in the Fair Fuel UK campaign, the last Budget saw two planned increases in fuel duty deferred and an unprecedented cut in fuel duty of 1p per litre – a move which saved businesses some £500 million.
However, despite this, the price of diesel increased by 7p per litre in 2011, adding £3,284 to the annual operating cost of a typical 44-tonne articulated vehicle.
James Hookham, the FTA’s MD of Policy and Communications, said: “Cutting the still-disproportionately high amount we spend on diesel, which is, after all, a business essential, would be a simple and effective way to stimulate the economy.
“The billions that industry and consumers will save over a year would be invested elsewhere in the economy, giving the impetus to growth that is so badly needed.
The FTA also wants the tax on road fuel gases to be fixed relative to diesel rates for at least five years, to provide confidence for truck operators and investors to commit to use of lower-emission vehicles.
Hookham said: “Logistics is helping to decarbonise the economy; members of the FTA’s voluntary Logistics Carbon Reduction Scheme are on track to meet their self-imposed eight per cent greenhouse gas reduction target by 2015.
“But much more could be achieved with greater government support. For example, biomethane from landfill sites could be a real option for articulated truck operators, but uncertainty over duty rates on natural gas and biomethane is a bar to investment in this sort of technology.
“We are simply asking government to help industry help the environment by fixing duty rates for the next five years.”
Source : http://www.ifw-net.com
