MSE News: Petrol prices set to reach record high

Paradigm

custardy wrote: »

folks have just got car reliant

The government have also become reliant on that fact

ETA: The latest figures I can find are from 2009.

The government revenue from fuel duties was £25.894 billion, with a further £3.884 billion being raised from the VAT

The government revenue from vehicle excise duties was £5.63 billion

SHIPSHAPE

It's a scandal, £1.50 a litre is not far off as sure as it rising to £2 a litre.

It's self inflicted and artificially high, it is simply an eye watering tax that again obviously hits the poorer most.

How on earth the concept of paying tax on a tax was ever accepted is beyond me.

It is a regressive tax, just like Council Tax.

Most council tax payers in my area pay about £1200, yet the multi-million pound properties pay just a little over double that.

That is not proportional, it should be 10% or 20% of a millionaires income to what £1200 is to the average household.

Sort out the rich and make them pay their fair share of taxes to fund the scrapping of a tax on a tax in the first instance and then a cut on the initial tax element of fuel duty.

Paradigm

SHIPSHAPE wrote: »

It's a scandal, £1.50 a litre is not far off as sure as it rising to £2 a litre.

The scandal is that the Gov must have budgeted for X amount of revenue from VAT on fuel &, unless they have a crystal ball, couldn't have foreseen the unrest in the middle east that is "supposedly" contributing to higher oil prices (or could they?).

So, they are now receiving billions of pounds in VAT over & above their budget... why is a cut in fuel duty such an issue?

SHIPSHAPE

whatmichaelsays wrote: »

So where would you rather pay tax instead? Or rather, where would you make £25.9bn of public sector cuts?

Start off with the Council Tax scandal.

A £2.5 million pound property near me pays £2,700 council tax, yet the average band d properties, worth about 150k, pay £1,300.

Hardly proportional.

Multiply this extra revenue, that the rich already get away with, across the UK and it's a start.

However, it is the rich I am talking about here and it was the tories who introduced the two regressive taxes, vat & council tax, so I wouldn't hold out much hope.

The majority will always carry the burden.

SHIPSHAPE

Scotty1.7 wrote: »

The fuel industry is unregulated and operates as it wants.

Different prices from garage to garage - why? There is no need at all - Fixed price fuel across the UK - Inc Motorway services.

Transportation to motorway services are obviously easier to negotiate for tankers than city centre stations yet the price difference is a joke.

Nobody fills up at motorways if the cash is coming from their own pocket, you just use them if you have to.

One is a captive buyer.

jackieb

custardy wrote: »

but it doest cost just fuel
its fuel+cost to run

I know that, but with the amount of times I have to get somewhere (hospital, airport, orthodontist, etc), it's still cheaper going by car. If I was travelling on my own, then the car is more expensive, but i've almost always got at least one person with me.

Also, it takes far longer to get anywhere using public transport. For me it would take most of the day if I was taking the bus to hospital (i've done it a few times for work purposes - for an 11am appointment I need to be out of the house by 7.30am, and not get back until 4pm) If I have the car I can be away from home for less than 4 hours. It's doable but not practical, convenient or moneysaving.

SHIPSHAPE

Just wait until mortgage rates start to rise, as they surely will do, along with ever increasing fuel prices, which then affects food prices...

I think there is scope for some significant civil unrest in the future, something has to give.

newfoundglory

SHIPSHAPE wrote: »

I think there is scope for some significant civil unrest in the future, something has to give.

Haven't we already had that - the riots? :rotfl:

davidgmmafan

"it seems obvious no government is going to kill off the fuel cash cow
the economy is a handy get out for it just now"

But is it impossible that the high cost fuel is damaging for the economy. Granted it depends on what your business entails, but the more people HAVE To spend on petrol and other bills the less they have to spend on other stuff so they cut back. Lots of people have debts to so they'd be cutting back anyway to pay that off. Oh and the state is cutting back too because they have to so that leaves, ???? to spend.

Hmm bit of a problem that. I don't know how it works with petrol for businesses but I doubt they get any kind of special rate. Who is to say there aren't businesses out there who AREN'T investing and aren't hiring people because of the cost of fuel?

It seems to me if the government can examine whether or not the 50p tax rate raises extra money (I am prepared to accept the argument that it does not) then precisely the same logic appears to apply here.

Also I have to admit it irks me a bit when you see people discussing things and they just say oh well devaluing the currency is one thing you can do as if its nothing. Why don't they point out when saying that the impact it makes (its one of the reasons for the current highs)? Or do they assume that everyone knows this will be the case?

SHIPSHAPE

newfoundglory wrote: »

Haven't we already had that - the riots? :rotfl:

No, we haven't, the last summer riots were mainly yobs with criminal records causing mayhem.

I'm talking of the average working joe who will be finally tipped over the edge by rising costs.

Mortgage rates have already begun to increase, over a million have been clobbered just this week with a small increase in their base rate adding about £200 a year to their mortgage.

Wait until the 1, 2% plus rises come.

Fuel increases will pale in to comparison, though they will also have to absorb those ever increasing costs too.

We're doomed I tell thee.:(