Rising fuel prices a ‘hidden tax’ on drivers
Fuel prices have hit a seven-month high with The AA describing the rising prices as a ‘hidden tax on drivers’.
Its data has revealed that the average price of a litre of petrol at UK forecourts is 136.2p, while diesel costs 144.6p per litre.
These are the highest prices recorded since March, with The AA warning that the 5p per litre cut in fuel duty is the only thing preventing prices at the pumps returning to the highest levels on record.
Meanwhile, AA analysis of Office for National Statistics data found inflation on motoring spending by consumers has generated an extra £1.2bn for the Treasury during 2023 and 2024 combined, while last year’s total, £24.9bn, was nearly £3bn more than in 2019.
A hidden tax
Jack Cousens, the AA’s head of roads policy, said: “At nearly £25bn a year, the huge VAT haul from consumer spending on motoring is a hidden tax on driving that now matches what the government gets from fuel duty on petrol and diesel.
“The recent increase in pump prices has put the national averages for petrol and diesel on a knife-edge that could see them return to the record levels of pre-covid if the 5p fuel duty cut, introduced in March 2022, is cancelled in this month’s Budget.
“Some of that extra fuel cost is being generated by the persistence of the pump-price postcode lottery, where local rivals match each other’s prices in a cosy relationship that leaves drivers in the ‘wrong’ towns paying £2 to £4 more for a tank of fuel.”
