Drop in fuel prices

AdrianC

force_ten wrote: »

and we are getting ripped off big style by our government

OK, so let's say it was zeroed overnight. How would you like the government to bridge that extra £26bn gap in their finances each year? What services would you suggest be cut, or which taxes would you suggest be raised?

Remember, there's still a gap between the amount the government spend and the amount their receive of about three times that much... It's generally called the "deficit". You might have heard of it.

JayCartwright

AdrianC wrote: »

OK, so let's say it was zeroed overnight. How would you like the government to bridge that extra £26bn gap in their finances each year? What services would you suggest be cut, or which taxes would you suggest be raised?

Remember, there's still a gap between the amount the government spend and the amount their receive of about three times that much... It's generally called the "deficit". You might have heard of it.

That's a hypothetical question thought. Do we really know what the deficit is and how much gets spend?

force_ten

AdrianC wrote: »

I went past a fairly rural Welsh petrol station today with a sign saying "99.9". Bit surprised, but no more than that. Then a second glance showed that the station had been closed and semi-derelict for many years, since the last time petrol was 99.9p/litre...

in Mid wales yesterday tesco was charging 99.7P for diesel and 99.4 for unleaded, today in a town 18 miles from morrisons and 28 miles from tesco and it was 107.9 for diesel and 104.p for unleaded

so for my car it would be around £6.00 more for a tankful

force_ten

AdrianC wrote: »

OK, so let's say it was zeroed overnight. How would you like the government to bridge that extra £26bn gap in their finances each year? What services would you suggest be cut, or which taxes would you suggest be raised?

Remember, there's still a gap between the amount the government spend and the amount their receive of about three times that much... It's generally called the "deficit". You might have heard of it.

I am not suggesting they zero duty but when you earn the money you get taxed and then when you spend it on fuel you pay another 75% in the pound in tax, to me that sounds like a good deal for the government and a real bad deal for me

Moto2

force_ten wrote: »

I am not suggesting they zero duty but when you earn the money you get taxed and then when you spend it on fuel you pay another 75% in the pound in tax, to me that sounds like a good deal for the government and a real bad deal for me

The government is you

Let's say it was halved then, where would you wield the axe for £13bn of cuts (every year, not just a one off) or how would you raise it to make up the shortfall?

AdrianC

force_ten wrote: »

I am not suggesting they zero duty but when you earn the money you get taxed and then when you spend it on fuel you pay another 75% in the pound in tax, to me that sounds like a good deal for the government and a real bad deal for me

OK, so how much of that £26bn/yr would you remove from fuel duty, and how would you bridge that gap?

motorguy

Deleted_User wrote: »

Yes it does prove it.

And wheres your evidence of that?

Or is it another tinfoil hat internet conspiracy theory that you cant back up?

agarnett

You are all still being totally ripped off. I am reminded of this every time the oil price drops and I travel to Europe, because the press in the UK are simply not doing their job. In fact their indifference to hiked prices at the supermarket pumps seems in league with the highest paying corporate interests. The pump prices in UK go up immediately with oil prices, but they take weeks to reduce when oil prices fall.

On the one hand you can read that oil market prices are at an ELEVEN year low, but on the other you are told that pump prices are WOW now a shade under £1 per litre and you are expected to be amazed.
What were pump prices 11 years ago? Well thanks to the AA we have those figures.

In Scandinavia it has been possible to buy diesel at less than 80p per litre for the last two weeks! And before you ask, the national fuel tax differences would appear to account for just 1/3rd of the price difference between Scandinavia and UK at the pumps. Add to that the suggestion that UK market fuel price (before fuel taxation is added) is generally lower than in Scandinavia, then the rip off conclusions made by the more savvy are inevitable.

AdrianC

Oooh. A litre of unleaded was 86.3p average in 2005, and is 99.9p now.

Well, hold on a mo.
99.9p - 20% vat = 83.25p
83.25p - 57.95p fuel duty = 25.3p

86.3p - 17.5% vat = 73.4p
73.4p - 47.1p fuel duty = 26.3p

So the base price of fuel is actually lower now than it was in 2005.

Now let's take inflation into account, shall we?
26.3p in Jan 2005 is equivalent to 36.1p in November 2015, the most recent CPI date.

So the base price of fuel is actually 70% of what it was the last time the oil price was this level.

Even if you ignore the base price - 86.3p in Jan 2005 would be equivalent to £1.18.6 today.

Oh, and if you're going to say that the UK is a tax rip-off compared to Scandinavia, consider that the "tax free day" in the UK is 13th May, in Denmark is 17th June, in Sweden is 30th June, in Norway is 29th July, Yes, in the US (where fuel is almost free by comparison - currently about 36p/litre) it's 24th April - but I'd have said the NHS was worth those three weeks, wouldn't you...?

motorguy

agarnett wrote: »

You are all still being totally ripped off. I am reminded of this every time the oil price drops and I travel to Europe, because the press in the UK are simply not doing their job. In fact their indifference to hiked prices at the supermarket pumps seems in league with the highest paying corporate interests. The pump prices in UK go up immediately with oil prices, but they take weeks to reduce when oil prices fall.

On the one hand you can read that oil market prices are at an ELEVEN year low, but on the other you are told that pump prices are WOW now a shade under £1 per litre and you are expected to be amazed.
What were pump prices 11 years ago? Well thanks to the AA we have those figures.

In Scandinavia it has been possible to buy diesel at less than 80p per litre for the last two weeks! And before you ask, the national fuel tax differences would appear to account for just 1/3rd of the price difference between Scandinavia and UK at the pumps. Add to that the suggestion that UK market fuel price (before fuel taxation is added) is generally lower than in Scandinavia, then the rip off conclusions made by the more savvy are inevitable.

So their taxation is different from ours - whats the issue?

The best way to avoid fuel tax is to either (a) drive less, (b) run a more economical car or (c) go electric.