Motoring misery in the UK

Oil prices have hit the roof in the last 4 months and so have the taxes we pay; to the tune of £1 billion in just the last 4 months! In fact the prime minister is set to tax us to the tune of £4.5 billion because of the rising oil costs. This will only put UK families under increasing financial pressure as they struggle to keep up with rising, fuel, utility bills and food prices.

We pay approximately £0.70 tax in every £1 spent at the pumps and this is a staggering £0.23 more than any other country in Europe. Fuel prices have risen by 20 per cent in the last 12 months alone; the fastest increases seen for 10 years. However this isn’t enough for the government to actually help us out by suspending the planned additional £0.02 per litre fuel levy and £0.35 VAT for April 1st - It must be an April fools joke, surely!?

With anger mounting over our inflated fuel prices haulage companies and farmers are threatening to create road blocks at oil refineries across the country. I’m not sure if that is the best way forward, I remember last time the oil refineries were blocked it just created panic at the pumps with people queing for long periods.

The increased prices of our general goods and services like food shopping, gas and electricity combined with increasing fuel costs are putting family finances under further pressure. Home movers are also being forced to pay stamp duty taxes completely over-inflated because of the huge surge in house prices over the last decade – the government has failed to increase stamp duty thresholds in-line with house price increases. All in all the UK is becoming a pretty expensive, high tax country to live in.

Back to the outraged drivers; I think research from the AA sums it up; from October 1st 2007 to April 1st 2008 drivers will have paid out an extra £282 million in duty and VAT on petrol alone.