'Reduce licence fee' call
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II Cuts in the annual licence fees for ommercial vehicles, to be recovered in tigher petrol tax, have been suggested to the 2ommons Select Committee studying urban ransport problems.
Mr J. M. Thomson, Rees Jeffreys tesearch Fellow in Economics and 'ransport Administration at the London ,chool of Economics, said he had felt for a )ng time that a shift in taxation from cence fees to petrol tax was needed.
MPs argued that industry tended to make greater use of its vehicles than private drivers and higher petrol tax would increase the burden on the industry.
Mr Thomson refuted a claim that industrial vehicles were lightly taxed.
"They are heavily taxed," he said. "I am suggesting that you shift the annual licence fee. You could reduce the annual licence fee on commercial vehicles by such an amount as you thought appropriate, having estimated the amount of additional petrol tax they would have to pay."