Hauliers urge fuel duty control

Lorry drivers are concerned about the rising cost of fuel

Hauliers' representatives have met Chancellor Alistair Darling to urge him not to raise fuel duty by a further 2 pence a litre.

The increase is planned for April but firms say the government should think again because of high fuel prices.

The Freight Transport and Road Haulage Associations told the chancellor that although he could not control fuel prices, he should control the duty.

They say that the increase in tax will cause them "serious difficulties".

'Struggling'

Roger King, chief executive of the Road Haulage Association, said the meeting has gone "well".

"We stressed that this should not go ahead on the grounds that Britain's road hauliers were already struggling to come to terms with the increase in world oil prices and earlier tax increases and that the economics of road freight transport operations were at serious risk as a result," he added.

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The associations say that a 1p increase costs the average haulier, with the average truck, £600 a year.

"It adds to the cost of the UK economy. We say - leave road transport alone," Mr King added.

He said the government already received enough revenue from taxes on oil.

"We are saying - don't go ahead, delay it if necessary until world oil prices come down."

And he also called for the haulage industry to be subject to a separate taxation regime from the ordinary motorist.

'Serious difficulties'

And in a letter to the Daily Telegraph, 11 leading figures from business groups and motoring industries argued that they were being hit simultaneously by a slow down in the economy and rising fuel costs.

In the letter, the organisations said: "At 50.35p a litre, UK fuel duty for diesel and petrol is already the highest in Europe. Indeed UK diesel duty is double the EU average rate of 25p a litre.

"The chancellor now plans to increase this by 2p per litre from 1 April.

"Such an increase will generate further serious difficulties for the transport and forecourt industries, business drivers, those dependent on the car, and for businesses or individuals in remote or rural areas with no alternative transport options."

AA president Edmund King said: "Our analysis shows that the chancellor has already bagged an unexpected windfall of more than £4bn from motorists and the oil industry in the last 12 months.

"Therefore, even if he scraps the threatened 2p per litre increase, he would still be £3bn better off."

The government said that, taking inflation into account, the proportion of prices accounted for by fuel duty has fallen during this decade.