Fuel Duty Increase by 2p a Litre

Unfortunately this isn't an April Fool's joke and both petrol and diesel prices are set to rise as the goverment has gone ahead with it's increase in fuel duty by 2 pence a litre. Meaning that tax on fuel is now a staggering 71%, so when you pay for your fuel at the petrol station just think 71% of what you are paying is going straight into the chancellor's pocket in various forms of tax. No doubt the increased revenue won't be fed back into the transport system or into offsetting carbon emissions from vehicles, but to help keep more of the country's failing banks afloat, etc. As the money raised in this way is placed in the goverment's central tax pot where it's final destination is untraceable.

The Treasury have said that the only time further changes to fuel duty can take place are at the next Budget ? which has been postponed from March until April 22nd, after the duty rise comes in. The current rise in prices is from the last budget, but after the extreme rise in prices they were delayed for a year. The original rise in prices was justified as "enviromental" however such price increases have little impact on the amount that people use their cars, and clearly commercial vehicle driver's have no choice. Yet the goverment has failed to increase it's funding on enviromental research, by anywhere near an equivalent amount, or carry out any substantial research into alternatives and seems content to profiteer from the fuel duty hikes.