Fuel duty meeting 'goes well'
Date: 13 February 2008
The meeting between the Road Haulage and Freight Transport Associations (RHA and FTA) and the chancellor, Alistair Darling, "went well" yesterday (February 11th).
The haulage industry representative groups met Mr Darling to argue the case for scrapping the proposed 2p per litre fuel tax hike that is slated for April. Current high fuel prices are placing extreme pressure on road haulage firms around the UK.
Roger King, chief executive of the RHA, said: "The meeting with the chancellor went well and we had a courteous hearing.
"We talked at length about the proposed 2p per litre increase and stressed that this should not go ahead on the grounds that Britain's road hauliers were already struggling to come to terms with the increase in world oil prices and earlier tax increases and that the economics of road freight transport operations were at serious risk as a result."
He also pointed out to Mr Darling that, if the hike goes ahead, the operating cost differential between a British truck and a French haulage vehicle would be an "unacceptable" £15,500.
The chancellor said that he could "do no more" than take note of what was said before the Budget statement in March, but did not rule out a revision of the plan to raise the tax.
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