1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100
101
102
103
104
105
106
107
108
109
110
111
112
113
114
115
116
117
118
119
120
121
122
123
124
125
126
127
128
129
130
131
132
133
134
135
136
137
138
139
140
141
142
143
144
145
146
147
148
149
150
151
152
153
154
155
156
157
158
159
160
161
162
163
164
165
166
167
168
169
170
171
172
173
174
175
176
177
178
179
180
181
182
183
184
185
186
187
188 
1 RHA te Is Treasury to cut LGV fuel tax
Page 6
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
The association is asking that the government "decouple haulage from
the green tax being placed on cars". Roanna Avison reports.
THE ROAD HAULAGE Association (RHA) has called on the Treasury to deal with fuel duty for road hauliers separately from the fuel tax rises due in October and next April.
In a letter to the government this week, the RHA asks for the crippling affect of heavy fuel duty on the haulage industry to be recognised and addressed.
RHA director of policy Jack Semple explains that the most pressing issue is for the 2p/lit rise planned for October to be waived for operators.
"The industry is unanimous in its opposition to the increase because [they] think it will damage them directly or impact on customers — particularly when they have European competition," he adds.
The RHA has reminded the Treasury that a UK operator running a 44-tonner pays up to £15,000 more annual fuel duty than any foreign competitor, and that fuel prices have already risen 6% this year— adding 2% to operating costs. Semple says: -In 2001 the Chancellor accepted the tax level for trucks was too high and tried to address it with the failed Lorry Road User Charge. So we really need to decouple road haulage from the green tax being placed on cars" The RHA points out that five EU states — the Netherlands, Belgium, France, Spain and Italy — support their hauliers with a fuel duty rebate: it is calling on the government to set up something similar in the UK: "This is one of the measures available to the government and it must recognise that something has to be done to keep UK hauliers competitive."
Semple reports thatTransaction, the campaign group responsible for the fuel blockades in 2000, is believed to have reformed as Transaction 2007. He adds that this shows the strength of feeling in the industry over this issue.
A Treasury spokesman says: -We have not yet received a letter from the RHA.
"The government continues to engage with the industry, and the Freight Data Feasibility Study is expected to report back in time for the Pre-Budget Report.
"In the Budget, the then Chancellor set out the government's policy on fuel duty,and this remains unchanged," he concludes.
FOR MORE OH THIS AHD RELATED SUBJECTS
wwitinadtransoort.comicm