Pre-Autumn Statement releases and announcement rumours of a continuing freeze in fuel duty till April 2018 show that the Chancellor of the Exchequer in his first ‘Mini-Budget’ is undeniably listening to FairFuelUK’s overwhelming economic evidence that lower prices at the pumps are hugely beneficial to the economy.
However, following the Autumn Statement UK petrol drivers will remain the 5th most fuel taxed in the world with diesel drivers being punished more than all other countries in 1st position. UK drivers will still pay £33bn in fuel taxes each year to the Treasury for little investment return into roads infrastructure.
In 2016 George Osborne’s continuing freeze in duty boosted GDP by 0.57 percent, generated 112,00 new jobs and put £5.3bn back into hard working Brits consumer spending. It also bolstered tax revenues by 0.2 percent. Because of these bullet proof facts, Philip Anthony Hammond PC MP could be bolder and trust even more so in our independent pragmatic economic evidence, we delivered to his and the Prime Minister’s office. The Chancellor must go further and cut fuel duty, proven empirically to be of no risk to the Treasury’s future tax income.
A 3p cut in duty would add £850m to GDP with no change in the net tax position due to the loss of duty, simply because the levy reduction will be compensated by the boost to income tax revenues. The motivation to the economy, impact on lowering inflation and 37m drivers’ cost of living would be considerable. This drop in fuel duty would save the poorest 50 percent of households on average £67 or £1.9bn in aggregate. Dover MP Charlie Elphicke said: “FairFuelUK’s new CEBR report clearly shows cutting fuel duty would be a huge boost for the hard-working classes of modern Britain. It would mean more jobs – and more money in the pockets of families and small businesses. This is a powerful case for the Chancellor that lower fuel duty will help turbocharge growth in Brexit Britain.”
Quentin Willson, Lead Campaigner for FairFuelUK said: “Our CEBR Report proves again there’s no cost to the Government but huge benefits to businesses and families by cutting fuel duty. The Chancellor can’t ignore our evidence.” Howard Cox, Founder of the FairFuelUK Campaign said: “It’s now time for the new Treasury Administration to practice what they endorse. Back in 2014 they said, lower fuel duty benefits the economy by boosting GDP. Such a widely popular cut in duty and VAT will also resonate profoundly with those families the Prime Minister addressed directly on the day she took office. Those families she said, that are: ‘just managing’, ‘working around the clock’, ‘doing their best’ and where ‘life can be a struggle. It’s time for the Government to truly deliver on the PM’s laudable intentions and help millions of hard working families, small businesses and the haulage industry to prosper. By doing so, the UK Economy will thrive after Brexit.’
FairFuelUK said: “Not surprisingly the usual highly paid personnel from profit based motoring organisations, always available on speed dial for a quote, will be queuing up to take credit for what happens in Wednesday’s Autumn Statement. These groups are answerable to shareholders and City based equity companies and believe sending a letter to the press and to the Treasury is the height of effective campaigning. It is only FairFuelUK who has commissioned and paid for independent economic evidence each year since January 2011, to measure the impact of fuel duty freezes and changes have had on our economy. Evidence always sought after, by the media. No other organisation has objectively shown so emphatically and paradoxically endorsed by the Treasury in 2014, that lower duty is good for GDP, jobs and lowering inflation. It is the not for profit campaign FairFuelUK supported by 1.4m of the public, who represents the true voice of 37m drivers and has the backing of over 140 MPs in Parliament, that has been solely responsible for the longest Tax Freeze in history.” TV Motoring Journalist Quentin Willson, Howard Cox Founder of the FairFuelUK Campaign will be available for interviews in and around 4 Millbank, Westminster if required to comment on the Autumn Statement.
Here are the benefits of Duty Freeze in 2016
- An annual boost to GDP of 0.57 percent.
- Supported the generation of an additional £10.1 billion in the gross value added (GVA – Gross value) contributions of industry to GDP
- Aggregated up across all households, these savings due to the freeze in duty amount to nearly £5.3bn being put back into consumer spending.
- The creation of 112,000 jobs
- A boost to net tax revenues of 0.20 percent
The benefits if the Chancellor announced a 3p Cut in Duty for 2017
- A boost to the GVA of industries of about £0.85 billion
- A boost in job creation of another 8,000 jobs
- No change in the net tax position with the loss of indirect taxes because of the fuel duty reduction compensated by the boost to income tax revenues
- A 3p cut in fuel duty would save the poorest 50 percent of households on average £67 – £1.9bn in aggregate
- A 3p cut in fuel duty would save households an additional £116 on average- an aggregate saving of £3.2bn
- A 1p rise in diesel duty would cost UK households £106 million in total in 2017, while a 5p rise would cost households £530 million
