The Real Cost Of Petrol.

As the government ponders whether or not to impose another giant tax hike - this time our promised 3p rise per litre on fuel, perhaps we should begin to consider a few of the many side effects.

This has a knock on effect to: prices in shops, jobs, 'fuel poverty' and inflation.

It takes the motor vehicle out of the reach of many poorer families in society.

It means that savings on car maintenance are made by many in order to remain on the road with the consequent increase in dangerous vehicles.

It tempts hundreds of thousands - and possibly millions - to save by not buying tax or insurance and by skipping the MOT test.

The government already owes the motorist a fortune from having charged 'tax on tax' with petrol which is of dubious legality and singularly immoral. To add to this the government's moral position is made even more reprehensible when you consider the disgusting state of our roads both nationally and locally as well as the paucity of motorways in relation to the number of vehicles.

Grabbing between 70% and 80% of the costs at the pumps it makes the oil company sharks look like naive beginners!
It appears that the average motorist is now paying around a thousand pounds a year of their gross income - not on petrol or diesel - but to the government on taxation of this commodity!