Diesel Drivers to be taxed more?

AdrianC

forgotmyname wrote: »

I will vote for the 1st party that admit that Mr Motorist is a cash cow and will always be a cash cow. Its not a matter of saving the enviroment or having cleaner air to breath. Its milking them for as much as they can get away with.

VED and fuel duty together contribute about £30bn to the exchequer each year. About twice the total Dept of Transport expenditure, or 2/3 of the schools budget, out of a total of £700bn. The deficit is still around £110bn, down from the peak of about £170bn.

That £30bn is a bit more than council tax or business rates, and about 2/3 of the total corporation tax income. It's about 1/5 of income tax.

If they don't get the money from VED and fuel duty, where should they get it from - or where should they cut spending?

forgotmyname

I dont care about the fact that they charge it all. Its the lies about WHY.

One thing that i thought odd at the time. The fuel strikes. They said they tax fuel heavily to pay for the healthcare. Or was it healthcare and schools?

AdrianC

forgotmyname wrote: »

I dont care about the fact that they charge it all. Its the lies about WHY.

One thing that i thought odd at the time. The fuel strikes. They said they tax fuel heavily to pay for the healthcare. Or was it healthcare and schools?

There is no "why". VED hasn't been ringfenced for anything in particular since 1936. Fuel Duty never has been. It's just money that goes into the exchequer.

A._Badger

AdrianC wrote: »

VED

If they don't get the money from VED and fuel duty, where should they get it from - or where should they cut spending?

Of course they could (and should) cut spending. They could start with the 'bonfire of the quangos' which was another broken promise. There is no inevitability about high taxation apart from in the minds of politicians and civil servants who believe they know how to spend people's money better than they do themselves.

It's a shame oil companies don't put a chart on the front of the pump showing what percentage of the cost of a litre actually accrues to them. Pubs might do the same.

The following election might be interesting if they did.

nobbysn*ts

I think we all agree. The only solution the government should consider is the one where I personally pay the least, and every one has to subsidise me. So the cars I use less, I should pay no ved, but be taxed on fuel, and the one I use most, pay a (small) ved, but then get a discount on fuel as I use a lot. Schools and hospital spending, should be reduced accordingly, as I'm healthy, and my kids are grown up.