Ministers needed to act now rather than wait until the Budget to reduce fuel charges, Mr Balls told the BBC.
He said it was wrong to increase the VAT rate at a time when tensions in the Middle East were pushing up fuel costs.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-12708707

Here, Here!

bit hippocritical in a way considering it was labour who mostly ramped up the prices long before cameron came in

It's easy to say things like that when you're in opposition. Yes the VAT increase has not helped but it's only 2-3p on the cost of a litre of petrol. Oil price speculators are the root cause of the high prices.

Why cant they Just stick the fuel at a fixed Price?

Say Make Unleaded
£0.95 p/l
And Diesel
£1.00 p/l

The Government will still a good cut of the profits, it'll make most of us alot happier!!!

okay the government wont get as much money - but hell there taking money off everybody else, surly its our turn?

Ziggy

Ziggy122 said:

Why cant they Just stick the fuel at a fixed Price?

Say Make Unleaded
£0.95 p/l
And Diesel
£1.00 p/l

The Government will still a good cut of the profits, it'll make most of us alot happier!!!

okay the government wont get as much money - but hell there taking money off everybody else, surly its our turn?

Ziggy

Click to expand...

its all beacause they love doing this with our lovely money we give them

if the money went to the right places in the right proportions all would be better

yes they do waste some money

But i do think if they just set a Price for fuel

Then they'd still get a good share of the profit
the Retailers cant do stupid things
And you dont have to worry where ever you are - you can just fill and drive for that little bit longer!!

Ziggy

colin79666 said:

It's easy to say things like that when you're in opposition. Yes the VAT increase has not helped but it's only 2-3p on the cost of a litre of petrol. Oil price speculators are the root cause of the high prices.

Click to expand...

If a litre of petrol costs £1.32, only 46pence pays for the fuel, 5p to the retailer/delivery so a whacking 81 pence lines the pockets of our benevolent leaders.
If your average fuel up is 10 gallons (45.46litres), you are giving a massive £36.82 to the geovernment.
This is on top of the 20-odd percent tax they already steal out of your wages before you get it, the 20% VAT on everything else you buy.
Whilst 46p/litre makes sheikh yermoney a nice tidy profit, it's nothing like the profits being made by our glorious leaders.
And someone please remind me again just what our government does for us drivers with all this money? Because I certainly can't. Oh hang on ...

sludgeguts said:

If a litre of petrol costs £1.32, only 46pence pays for the fuel, 5p to the retailer/delivery so a whacking 81 pence lines the pockets of our benevolent leaders.
If your average fuel up is 10 gallons (45.46litres), you are giving a massive £36.82 to the geovernment.
This is on top of the 20-odd percent tax they already steal out of your wages before you get it, the 20% VAT on everything else you buy.
Whilst 46p/litre makes sheikh yermoney a nice tidy profit, it's nothing like the profits being made by our glorious leaders.
And someone please remind me again just what our government does for us drivers with all this money? Because I certainly can't. Oh hang on ...

Click to expand...

what the hell? Is that a massive puddle and the pickup has gone into it?

Atleast, if they steal the Money from Fuel - Spend it on the roads for god sake, and spend it on lowering Road tax, Better Driving lessons and everything else!

Ziggy

https://www.fiatforum.com/leisure-lounge/265292-says-all-about-our-roads-really.html

that will answer it

the road subsided and the water filled the hole in that picture. i agree that more of our "road fund" tax has to be spent on the road. and fuel prices definatly have to come down

Ziggy122 said:

what the hell? Is that a massive puddle and the pickup has gone into it?

Atleast, if they steal the Money from Fuel - Spend it on the roads for god sake, and spend it on lowering Road tax, Better Driving lessons and everything else!

Ziggy

Click to expand...

Yep, huge puddle, brand new pickup...
https://www.fiatforum.com/leisure-lounge/265292-says-all-about-our-roads-really.html

sludgeguts said:

This is on top of the 20-odd percent tax they already steal out of your wages before you get it, the 20% VAT on everything else you buy.

Click to expand...

20% basic rate tax isn't that bad - although of course you need to factor in Class 1 National Insurance.

As for 20% on everything else you buy - eh, not quite... Non-luxury food is zero-rated, domestic energy at 5%

Ok near enough everything else you buy .

By luxury food's do you mean chocolate, sweet, crisps, junk food etc? or Marks and Spencer's / Tesco's Finest meals?

ChrisUK said:

By luxury food's do you mean chocolate, sweet, crisps, junk food etc? or Marks and Spencer's / Tesco's Finest meals?

Click to expand...

Take a look

http://customs.hmrc.gov.uk/channels...document&columns=1&id=HMCE_CL_000118#P67_4124

Simples - not!!

If you look on say a Tesco's receipt, all the VATABLE items tend to have an * next to them.

I calculated my takehome pay by deducting 45% which seemed more or less spot on. This included tax, NI, pension etc.
And whilst I know some foodstuffs aren't subjected to 20% VAT, there is an indirect application through increased transport costs and other overheads.
Children's clothes & shoes were supposed to be VAT exempt and yet my two were hardly unusually large kids but hit adult sizes almost as soon as they hit their teens. So a 13 year old lad is wearing an adult size 12 shoe but we can't have a VAT refund becuse the shoe is adult size - despite it being for a child, and HM revenue and customs won't give way.

dronenrs said:

the road subsided and the water filled the hole in that picture.

Click to expand...

Isn't it that the water company's water main burst, and washed the road away?

Labour really do have a brass neck to be complaining about fuel duty after their 13 years of wars against the driver. We have Labour to thank for starting this whole price escalator. And of course they also had a love affair with the speed camera. What heros!

Stu DemonD said:

Take a look

http://customs.hmrc.gov.uk/channels...document&columns=1&id=HMCE_CL_000118#P67_4124

Simples - not!!

If you look on say a Tesco's receipt, all the VATABLE items tend to have an * next to them.

Click to expand...

what worries me is we as tax payers pay for someone to be employed to think that stuff up!
if i've read it right i can buy chocolate leaves to put on a cake and pay no tax on them but to buy my kids a packet of cadbury buttons it's 20% tax anyone else think thats a bit mental?

neeny09 said:

what worries me is we as tax payers pay for someone to be employed to think that stuff up!

Click to expand...

Well, that is legislation for you - every Government has it.

Also, a lot of this will have evolved over time, using case law and such like. The basis can be quite simple, it is the intepretation and clarification that is tricky. Still, keeps me busy, I am trawling through Capital Gains Tax manuals at the moment

Stu DemonD said:

Well, that is legislation for you - every Government has it.

Also, a lot of this will have evolved over time, using case law and such like. The basis can be quite simple, it is the intepretation and clarification that is tricky. Still, keeps me busy, I am trawling through Capital Gains Tax manuals at the moment

Click to expand...

Capital Gains Tax? that seriously sounds like a headache and i have no idea what it's about