Fuel & VAT increase

Locky · 30 Dec 2009 at 11:48

So we all know Mr Darling is increasing VAT back to 17.5%

We all know when he dropped the VAT he "offset" the duty to keep the prices of fuel the same

So the question is.. is Mr Darling going to "offset the price of duty when the VAT goes back up to keep the price the same.

I very much doubt that's going to happen.

Del Lardo · 30 Dec 2009 at 11:50

The Chancellor said when he put the Fuel Duty up by 2p that it was permanent and will not be reduced when VAT goes back to 17.5%.

4T5 · 30 Dec 2009 at 11:52

O dear it will cost me a quarter of a pence more to run my motor.

NathanE · 30 Dec 2009 at 12:03

It's never gone down.

Why would they when we they've created a blackhole the size of about £100bn in our finances?

Motorists... saving New Labour's arse over and over again, since 1997.

Burnsy2023 · 30 Dec 2009 at 12:07

malc30 said:
O dear it will cost me a quarter of a pence more to run my motor.

When you have car that is relatively petrol hungry, it really does make a difference.

Matt82 · 30 Dec 2009 at 12:08

i hate cars

another 2.5% on petrol is hardly going to break the bank though

SUL is about 115p now

Burnsy2023 · 30 Dec 2009 at 12:14

Matt82 said:
another 2.5% on petrol is hardly going to break the bank though

On top of the 2p duty rise every 6 months plus the rise in the price of oil, it can do.

Matt82 · 30 Dec 2009 at 12:25

i have a tweaked audi s4, this thing more than highlights how expensive fuel is getting

Gaygle · 30 Dec 2009 at 12:26

Burnsy2023 said:
On top of the 2p duty rise every 6 months plus the rise in the price of oil, it can do.

This ^^

What people seem to forget is that it seems to be 2p every year + oil rises. It all adds up.

clv101 · 30 Dec 2009 at 12:31

Burnsy2023 said:
When you have car that is relatively petrol hungry, it really does make a difference.

It makes tens of pounds a year difference. Driving more conservatively makes hundreds of pounds a year difference.

I makes no sense to moan about a few pence of duty while continuing to drive at 80 rather than 60mph.

InvaderGIR · 30 Dec 2009 at 12:33

What people also seem to forget is that we just get on with it and still pay for it, if people were that bothered then they'd do something about it.

As far as I'm concerned it costs me as much as it costs to run a car, be that fuel, tyres etc. so another rise in costs doesn't phase me. If I choose to run a performance car then I'm doing so knowing it'll cost me lots to run.

johnny6 · 30 Dec 2009 at 12:34

Yet its still cheaper for me to get to work using the car than public transport by a fair margin. Possibly the only reason why I don't complain when fuel charges go up.

Cyanide · 30 Dec 2009 at 12:42

clv101 said:
It makes tens of pounds a year difference. Driving more conservatively makes hundreds of pounds a year difference.

I makes no sense to moan about a few pence of duty while continuing to drive at 80 rather than 60mph.

£50 to fill up + 2.5% = £51.25 to fill up

I'm currently using roughly a tank every 10 days so it works out at £45p/a. And I'll soon be doing twice the mileage

Not a huge amount I'll admit but every time that **** sticks 2p or 2% or whatever he feels like next it's another £45 a year. Soon adds up.

johnny6 · 30 Dec 2009 at 12:47

Cyanide said:
£50 to fill up + 2.5% = £51.25 to fill up

I'm currently using roughly a tank every 10 days so it works out at £45p/a. And I'll soon be doing twice the mileage

Not a huge amount I'll admit but every time that **** sticks 2p or 2% or whatever he feels like next it's another £45 a year. Soon adds up.

But are you getting the best fuel economy from your vehicle is his point? The way people drive has the potential to cost them more money than a 2p tax increase on fuel.

clv101 · 30 Dec 2009 at 12:57

Cyanide said:
£50 to fill up + 2.5% = £51.25 to fill up

I'm currently using roughly a tank every 10 days so it works out at £45p/a. And I'll soon be doing twice the mileage

Not a huge amount I'll admit but every time that **** sticks 2p or 2% or whatever he feels like next it's another £45 a year. Soon adds up.

Exactly, only tens of pounds a year. You say £50 every 10 days, that's £1825 a year and around 1722 litres (assuming 106p).

No idea what kind of car you've got but a half decent diesel will do 65 mpg at 60mph or 45 mpg at 80mph. Slowing down from 80 mph to 60 mph saves 44% of the fuel, on your annual bill that would be £811!

That's an extreme example, half it and savings are still ten times larger than a 2p duty hike.

A few pence of duty is almost irrelivent compared to your own right foot.

antran · 30 Dec 2009 at 13:00

There is a very simple solution to the problem, drive less hehe

lordrobs · 30 Dec 2009 at 13:03

clv101 said:
Slowing down from 80 mph to 60 mph saves 44% of the fuel, on your annual bill that would be £811!

Assuming that he jumps into a warm car already rolling at 60mph each day :confused:

That sounds like Quentin Wilson type economics

clv101 · 30 Dec 2009 at 13:04

Which is why I halved the final result.

Jokester · 30 Dec 2009 at 13:09

clv101 said:
Exactly, only tens of pounds a year. You say £50 every 10 days, that's £1825 a year and around 1722 litres (assuming 106p).

No idea what kind of car you've got but a half decent diesel will do 65 mpg at 60mph or 45 mpg at 80mph. Slowing down from 80 mph to 60 mph saves 44% of the fuel, on your annual bill that would be £811!

That's an extreme example, half it and savings are still ten times larger than a 2p duty hike.

A few pence of duty is almost irrelivent compared to your own right foot.

I think the point is though, if you added up all these insgnificant increases over the years, it comes to several hundreds of pounds a year. Great way to get away with highway robbery, do it in stages so that people don't notice it as much.

clv101 · 30 Dec 2009 at 13:19

Until last year duty hadn't even kept up with inflation, the cost of motoring has fallen in real terms under the Labour government (notice how half the students these days can afford cars!).

The important points are that the cost of motoring has fallen in the UK, the biggest variables are how fast you drive, how far you drive and what kind of car you choose to drive. These three are all under the drivers control.

If people choose to drive at 80 mph rather than 60, buy a car that does 30 mpg rather than 60 and choose to drive more than they have to... then that's their own choice! Duty is the most insignificant part of this equation.