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Quote: So you would rather some fatcat oil company gets your hard earned rather than it being spent on the health service etc
That's hardly the point. I wasn't making a blanket objection to taxation, which should be clear from the context.
What I was saying was that in addition to levying a massive amount of duty on fuel, the government then charges tax on top of that. To then shrug their shoulders and say "Cutting tax isn't going to reduce the price of oil" is frankly laughable.
Besides, I don't see the logic in what you're saying. For the government to take less in tax and duty doesn't mean that more automatically goes to the oil companies.
Doug
just be glad that most petrol pumps (not all mind you) don't have the technology to price above 99p a litre. Just like in the states where some stations couldn't market fuel at above $3 a gallon.
The % increase in the states has outstripped ours, about 18 months ago it was under $2 a gallon (about $1.60 IIRC)now it's about $3.60 or it was about 2 weeks ago. That sort of rise is equivalent to ours now being 1.70 a litre! Admittedly the US has plenty of ground to catch up! It still felt cheap filling up there despite the low mileage we got in the hire car.
The point I was trying to make Doug is that whenever the price of fuel is discussed the finger of blame is always pointed at the government, this is not the case. Now if the government was to massively reduce the tax taken at the pump then that is going to leave a massive hole in the public finances, at the same time the root cause of the problem is left untackled, that is the oil industry reacting to high oil prices in a profiteering manner and in particular the actions of OPEC.
Quote: Ms Jaffe says US oil companies are not warm to any plan that would undermine Opec and the current high oil price: "I'm not sure that if I'm the chair of an American company, and you put me on a lie detector test, I would say high oil prices are bad for me or my company."
The above quote was taken from this webpage, for a greater insight of the oil industry and also the real reason we went to war in Iraq. You should watch the video its very revealing
What ever the government might loose in reducing the fuel taxes,they more than make up with there new mobile revenue cameras better known as safety cameras,
These bastards are getting so cocky there new weapon is a white van disguised with no police markings and yellow flashing lights
LOL - Good to see that you guys are as suspicious of government and big money as I am!
Patrick
I take your point, Stuart, but nevertheless, by far the biggest percentage of every pound handed over at the pump goes not to the oil companies, but to the Treasury.
Now I'm well aware that the oil companies make vast profits, and are never likely to be in favour of reducing their take. However, I was talking only about the percentage that we pay which goes to the government - after all this is the point which the somewhat obfuscating answer from the Treasury spokesman was addressing.
Of course a reduction in the amount taken from drivers would mean that money would have to be found from elsewhere. However, it doesn't follow from that that anyone who drives a motor vehicle has a disproportionate obligation to finance Government spending.
It's also easy for those of us (including myself) who live in a reasonably densely populated area, where most things are within easy travelling distance of each other, and public transport is an option at least part of the time, to forget the severity of the impact of high fuel prices on those who live in more remote areas. I was on the Isle of Skye about three weeks ago, and the price of diesel there was some 7 or 8 pence higher there than it was here in Edinburgh! It's easy to forget that the price most of us pay is significantly lower than some are facing, and they have no choice but to pay up.
Doug
Bloody typical!! in 2000 I was going on holiday the week after the fuel blockade luckily i was going to the channel island and had fuelled the car up. This time I'm going on holiday on the 17th to the lake district I prob will be able to get fuel to go but if there is a blockade then i may well be stranded. my only hope is this time they know when it will be blockaded and can be ready to shoot the buggers if necessary!
chris
I have refrained from entering these type of discussions previously, but can hold back no longer...
I wish people would actually get their facts correct before sending those ridiculous e-mails to all their friends (who are probably p'eed off with having received it for the 18th time).
Petrol & Diesel are both derived from crude oil and whilst changes in the price of crude oil impact on the prices of the refined products, they are traded completely independently of each other on the international market. The cost of both products (and not just the cost of crude oil) is the key factor in determining their respective prices on our retail forecourts. In recent weeks the increase in the price per barrel of the refined product on the international markets has been mirrored by an increase in the price paid at the pump. The US have bought large volumes of stocks from Europe to help with their demand. There is also increased demand from China for their growing industries causing strain on demand from production.
In the UK, motor fuel is heavily taxed with approximately 75 % of the price paid by the motorist going to the government in excise duty and VAT, prior to recent world events. The current UK rate of duty on Unleaded Petrol and Low Sulphur Diesel is 47.10 pence per litre. This does not change, it is a fixed amount and not a percentage, the VAT is a percentage.
To summarise, a large volume of the worldwide refining capacity has been taken off line in southern USA, in an industry where supply was already struggling to meet demand this is a serious issue. Demand has increased, but the ability to supply has decreased, the result, demand forces the price up of the refined product as traded on the international markets. Knock on effect, pump prices rise...
How many were aware that the major oil nationals in the UK were operating at a minus margin to try and hold prices down artificially?
If you disagree with what I say, I don't care as I know I am right, I work within the industry.
Matt
(posted as an EPZ member, not as a moderator)
If you want decent and factual information, then visit the UKPIA, rather than a journalists sensationalised scrawl on the subject...
Looks like I'm in the same boat as you Chris. Mind you I'd be really really gutted if I had to stay on holiday rather than go back to work...honest
You and me both Chris. I shall be somewhere in deepest Dorset if the blockade goes ahead.
Still, I can think of worse places to get stranded.
Kris.
That report was 5 years ago (dated Sep 21st 2000) - it has been reduced a bit since then.
My figure came from the Road Haulage Assoc website as well as todays BBCs news pages.
KRs
Chris
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