There was little cheer for British motorists this week as the government cleared the country's fuel retailers of rigging the cost of petrol and diesel. Yet again motorists are bearing the brunt of the taxman?s weight ? drivers pay ?45 billion in motoring taxes, yet see just ?9 billion of that pumped back into the road network.
As one Manchester driver discovered this week when their VW Polo disappeared into a 5ft pothole, Britain?s roads are becoming a disgrace. Recent bouts of floods and snowy winters have left our road network ravaged by bumps, lumps and potholes. Now that we?re told we?re not overpaying for our fuel, surely it?s about time we saw some of those revenues put back to improve our road network.
Yesterday?s ruling by the Office of Fair Trading means pump prices will remain sky-high for the foreseeable future - you can buy supermarket beer for less than half the cost of unleaded fuel. Tesco currently sells a four-pack of Everyday Value Lager cans for ?1.00 ? that?s 57p per litre. The current UK average petrol price on the forecourts of Britain stands at ?1.36 per litre.
The OFT investigation blamed high pump prices on volatile oil costs and shifting tax regimes, rather than collusion among petrol stations. It's a stinging reminder of how much tax the Treasury grabs every time you pull the trigger: around 60.5% of your litre squirts straight into government coffers. Yet only a fifth of that is put back into improving our road network.
Compare that with the US, where a mix of state and local taxes add a paltry 11% to pump prices. No president has dared to raise the federal levy since 1993 and today a litre of petrol costs around 55p. No wonder American motorists stick in their large SUVs, while Europeans are frantically downsizing.
The price of a litre of unleaded has soared from 80p to ?1.36 in the past decade ? and the tax take has leaped from 59p to 81p since 2003. If that kind of motoring inflation continues, we?ll all be walking in future. If all the roads and pavements haven?t crumbled away by then?
The tax take on fuel has leaped from 59p to 81p since 2003
You can buy supermarket beer for half the price of unleaded petrol
Link: A national disgrace: fuel prices soar while our roads crumble - MSN Cars UK
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