Petrol tax in the UK is the highest in
Europe
(Sparkpics)
Road to nowhere
We pay more tax on our petrol than anywhere else in Europe. Every
time you spend a pound on petrol, more than 75p takes the fast
lane to Gordon Brown’s pocket.
According to the RAC Foundation, motorists in the UK pay a total
of £42.2 billion to the government in tax every year. Transport
as a whole receives about £18 billion in return, and the
roads just £6.7 billion.
However, in real terms, the cost of driving is roughly the same
as it was in 1980, and has actually fallen under Labour. But public
transport has increased in cost by about 35%.
On the downside, congestion is getting worse, and even the government
predicts that our roads will keep getting fuller. Opposition parties
aren’t sure what to do about it. The Liberal Democrats are against
building new roads in most circumstances, while the Conservatives
promise a massive new campaign of road building.
As the fuel protests in 2001 proved, car users can be powerful
when they get organised. But 83% of us think the government should
encourage people to use public transport instead of their cars.
Perhaps we should. A quarter of all car journeys are for less
than two miles, which most people would walk in just half an hour. |
