Petrol Prices in the UK - Why?

I totally agree,

Todays journey was a day off work for family reasons. Took my Mother and Aunty to Gatwick, followed by a trip to Canterbury to drop my Cousin off for her second year in Uni (First year off the halls to a shared house) and back to sunny Newport

Total cost of fuel was just shy of £75 quid (Thanks very much BP at Membury services for the 102.9p per litre when most non motorway services are 92.9p)

The cost for my Aunty and Cousin to travel up was £60 quid one way from Paddington to Newport (Even though one has a Travel & Student card) so it was a no brainer.

For anyone thinking "Pot calling Kettle" my first point was that before long, and I'll give it three years at most you'll soon be seeing £5 a gallon

Justyn.

All remarks about fat, stupid and penis-challenged Americans aside, I struggle with how you good people in Europe put up with your strangulating tax systems.
I’ll take a highway choked with SUVs over those horrid fuel taxes any day. And all the other taxes you folks seem to bend over and pay. Ugh!
David

quote:

Originally posted by NaimDropper:
All remarks about fat, stupid and penis-challenged Americans aside, I struggle with how you good people in Europe put up with your strangulating tax systems.
I’ll take a highway choked with SUVs over those horrid fuel taxes any day. And all the other taxes you folks seem to bend over and pay. Ugh!
David

Well, of course we don't have to pay for health insurance, local sales tax added to the ticketed price and many other taxes which America "hides".

I say this based on my eldest brother who lives in the USA who is constantly moaning about the high taxes there. On the face of it, the USA has low taxes, but not when you look at the full picture......

In the UK we pay a hidden tax instead of Health Insurance and to ensure that we get treatment in a sensible time frame we still have to pay health insurance or pay for the treatment - and there is a good chance that we will not be allowed to have access to the best level of drugs.

quote:

I’ll take a highway choked with SUVs over those horrid fuel taxes any day.

The answer to that problem would be to tax the SUVs and not the fuel that they and all other vehicles burn. A 50% purchase tax applied to both new and used, and road tax at £1000 per year should fix it.

quote:

Originally posted by Derek Wright:
In the UK we pay a hidden tax instead of Health Insurance and to ensure that we get treatment in a sensible time frame we still have to pay health insurance or pay for the treatment - and there is a good chance that we will not be allowed to have access to the best level of drugs.

The 'hidden tax' is general taxation. You don't have to pay for additional health insurance or go private to ensure better or faster treatment but there is a long history of private practice which may or may not get you to the front of a queue faster. It's difficult to say overal, but at least it does give you flexibility of getting treated in a time frame that suits you (and/or your enployer) if your case is considered to be not urgent by the health service.

In the 80s and 90s we were fast heading for a health service which provided treatment based on people's ability to pay. This despite the fact that we were all still paying for the health service out of general tax. We've now swung off that path. Resources will allways be finite and the system far from perfect (what system is?). If you're in a queue for treatment it's allways going to be too long. Sometimes it IS too long. More resources might shorten the queue. As would practitioners spending significantly less time on their private lists.

Cheers

Harry

quote:

The answer to that problem would be to tax the SUVs and not the fuel that they and all other vehicles burn. A 50% purchase tax applied to both new and used, and road tax at £1000 per year should fix it.

I don't agree, the high cost of fuel has finally got to me and I have replaced my family SUV (Jeep Grand Cherokee) with a Toyota Prius.
However, I still have a need for a large vehicle to tow occasionally, so I will be buying another SUV or a large van - which will only be doing 2000 miles a year or so. I will be using far, far less fuel than before, but under the proposal above I would be paying more than I was with the single SUV as the main family car!
SUVs (and any other large vehicle) only pollute when they are being used, high road tax levels only punish ownership, not usage.
They would, however, suit taxi drivers who typically do a high mileage in mid-sized diesel cars......

quote:

They would, however, suit taxi drivers who typically do a high mileage in mid-sized diesel cars......

No they wouldn't. I need a car with good fuel economy and performance. I don't need a car that's as aerodynamic as a brick wall, has permanent 4WD, is built to look like a tank and is as ugly as sin.

quote:

SUVs (and any other large vehicle) only pollute when they are being used, high road tax levels only punish ownership, not usage.

If they are too expensive to own they can't be used. High fuel taxes punish everyone, not least those with the greatest transport need.

I wish somebody would explain the logic of buying a new car for greater fuel economy. Like you're going to save several tens of thousand of pounds in fuel are you?
The same argument goes for buying new fridges and low energy lightbulbs to save on the electricity bill. How much is your electicity bill that you'll actually save anything at all over the expected lifetime of the object?

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They would, however, suit taxi drivers who typically do a high mileage in mid-sized diesel cars......

The "They" being referred to here were the taxation rules, not SUV's. Low fuel tax and high ownership tax wouls suit everone who does a very high mileage (and consequently has more impact on the environment than someone who does very few miles in a gas guzzler).Of course an SUV would be a ludicrous vehicle for a taxi driver to run.
As to Nime's question, things wear out. I wouldn't buy a new fridge until my old one is knackered, but a when I buy a new one it will be an AA efficiency model.

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Low fuel tax and high ownership tax wouls suit everone who does a very high mileage

I would suggest high ownership tax only for inefficient vehicles bought for reasons of fashion/status and not for practicality.

Those with a genuine need for an SUV could apply for grants or rebates that would offset the extra tax.

Danish Bank report on petrol prices says that the problem is the wrong kind of oil. The heavy stuff from OPEC can't be put through the refineries which have been busy refining the light oil from the North Sea etc. The basic problem is refineries haven't geared up for the present demand for petrol, home heating oil and plane fuel. It takes at least 6 months to change the refineries over to use heavy oil. Petrol prices are expected to rise or remain as high as at present for at least the next two years. China's ever increasing fuel needs are expected to push prices even further up. (Danish radio today)

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Those with a genuine need for an SUV

Need is a strong word, I have a reason for owning a 4 x 4, not a need. So do the people who use them to pull horse boxes, gliders etc. etc.

You all have to get real. In 30 years' time you will look back on 2005 and think wistflly of the low prices you enjoyed back then.

Oil and its by-products are going to get scarcer and scarcer (it's a finite resource remember) - prices will escalate and I shouldn't be surprised if future governments tax petrol to he hilt in oder to conserve what little oil is left.

Until people (ie motorists) get out of this mindset that it is every other driver,rather than them, who is the problem, and the belief that every car journey is necessary, oil consumption will continue at its present profligate levels.

Wake up!

K

Well I'll be driving by six wheel drive nuclear powered all terrain anti-radiation SUV.