The Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport in the UK (CILT) says that the Chancellors Pre-Budget Report confirmation of yet another above inflation increase in fuel duty is counter productive in its penal impact on the logistics and transport sectors of the economy.
CILT says that raising fuel costs in such a way constitutes an attack on fundamental and essential business operations and will not assist economic recovery but more likely impede it.
CILT Chief Executive Steve Agg said: Diesel fuel, quite literally ensures that the wheels of the economy go round. No goods or services have value until they are delivered to the customer and diesel is responsible for powering virtually all of those deliveries. Yet the Government has chosen to increase fuel duty by 16 per cent between last December and next April. Such a policy impedes our ability to develop the economy by imposing unnecessary cost increases on both the sector itself and the rest of the economy which depends upon it.
The movement of goods by commercial vehicles is a basic and essential business operation and, far from persistent increases in fuel duty, we should be looking for a fairer and more equitable means of taxing legitimate business activity.
The Government clearly has a massive problem and needs to raise money and reduce debt. Increasing taxes on the delivery of goods is not the answer.
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