Fuel up/down again

mattyg said:
Not sure if anyone has mentioned this yet.

But has anyone worked out yet how much this is going to cost the country in loss of Tax Etc.

I know we all want cheaper fuel but If it was kept artificially high for another year (only to the point it was before it dropped) would that help go somewhere towards balancing the books
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Remember that the government only loses 1p for every 6p the fuel price comes down.

They would much prefer the 5p stay in the UK rather than go to pay oil exporting nations. Besides you might go and spend that 6p in the UK on a VAT rated product anyway, helping the UK economy grow from which tax receipts would rise.

Businesses will start to save money which will cause their profits to rise on which they pay corporation tax. They may even reinvest some of those savings hiring more people (and/or pay higher wages) or equipment which causes income tax receipts to rise and/or the UK producing more stuff. That increased stuff will go part of the way to meet the increased demand that extra 6p in people's pockets will create. There may even be more exports.

Losing 1p per 6p is nothing to the government given the other benefits a low oil price has.
 
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mattyg said:
Not sure if anyone has mentioned this yet.

But has anyone worked out yet how much this is going to cost the country in loss of Tax Etc.

I know we all want cheaper fuel but If it was kept artificially high for another year (only to the point it was before it dropped) would that help go somewhere towards balancing the books
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Fuel duty is a fixed amount not a percentage isn't it? So that won't be affected. VAT obviously will but even with a 40p fluctuation that's only a difference in VAT of 8p, compared to a saving of 40...
 
Redgie said:
Fuel duty is a fixed amount not a percentage isn't it? So that won't be affected. VAT obviously will but even with a 40p fluctuation that's only a difference in VAT of 8p, compared to a saving of 40...
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And for the most part, that 40p saving is spent on something else, so the VAT is then taken elsewhere, and the profits are taxed elsewhere.
 
I was having that discussion about 4 yrs ago as fuel was getting silly. Sighting the same reasons you've all suggested. Especially as one of my businesses is road haulage.

However increasing fuel by 15p Per litre would bring in approx £18.6 million per day or £6.9 billion per year in extra revenue

I've been to a party today so had a few drinks here's the maths

UKpia said:
The market for transport fuels in the UK amounts to about 53 million tonnes per year, equivalent to about 49 billion litres. Demand for road transport fuels equates to 56 million litres of petrol and 68 million litres of diesel per day. Other than jet fuel, the market for transport fuels is mature with little overall growth in demand and in the case of retail fuels sold on the forecourt, this sector is virtually stagnant having grown by 1% since 1999. Sales of petrol currently represent 43.9% of road transport demand by litres sold, whilst sales of diesel now represent 56% of total demand.
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Overlag said:
But come on it must be bad that the price goes down... At least that's what people were saying a few posts up... What they didn't get was it effects EVERYTHING when people have more money to spend.
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But if it where kept artificially high 100% would go back into the coffers.
 
Adding duty to offset any price cut would be deeply unpopular. As fuel prices increased much faster than inflation you didn't see the government cut duty (although they did freeze it).

It would also squeeze the disposable income for many families, and the next election will be fought on a living standards crisis where wages have until very recently stagnated vs inflation.

Easier ways to raise £6.9bn rather than gaining the wrath of such a large proportion of the electorate.
 
muon said:
the next election will be fought on a living standards crisis where wages have until very recently stagnated vs inflation.

Easier ways to raise £6.9bn rather than gaining the wrath of such a large proportion of the electorate.
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The election is only months away though and arguably makes it even more likely we'll see a rise announced in the Autumn statement because there may be some pre-election pledges that need paying for somehow, plus the fact that the next election could be not until 2020 so the wrath of the electorate will not be so front of mind (or conversely the majority will have long forgotten by the time the next election comes around).
 
Joe T said:
Paid 110.9 for Shell diesel in North London today. 5p cheaper than Northampton! Also odd that the big sign out front said 112.9, but the pumps were 110.9!
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Northampton is always a couple of pence a litre dearer than the surrounding areas.

Rushden, Corby and Rugby are where I tend to see the lowest prices.

The shell in Rushden just off the A45 was 103.9 earlier iirc
 
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