"If we can afford it."  

Well he should know if he can or not! & if he does not we really are stuffed.

 

http://news.sky.com/story/1148271/osborne-wants-fuel-duty-frozen-until-2015

But surely if his aim is to run a surplus, we can't afford this until we are in surplus? If we are near a surplus then surely the 20% cuts to front line police is unnecessary then?

Instead I think this is purely a publicity stunt to raise votes.

Double post.

Edited 30 September, 201312 yr by mdon

We need to run a big surplus to start to repay our huge debt. No point going interest only till the next crisis.

That said firstly we are not nearly in surplus and secondly politicians and public are too stupid to understand the first paragraph.

So **** quite frankly.

 

They were never going to touch fuel duty while the cost is so high right now anyway. Election suicide.

Trying to spin the positive, for a change, I think.  Points awarded for the positives though, if you can find them. A daily trip to the job centre ? Compulsory community work ?  The cost to travel there either by car or public transport mounts up, and would be paid out of any benefit received. Reality check required I think...but then what would he know, he's a politician and a millionaire to boot. 

Milliband's energy price freeze is Ozzy Osbourne's fuel duty freeze. (and vice versa)

Pure politics.

Don't forget he's also got the VAT stealth tax on fuel too. It's a safe bet the cost is only going in 1 direction and every time the cost goes up due to the cost of crude etc he wins anyway with increases in VAT revenue.

Fuel duty on diesel used for trains and freight just puts up the cost of living and inflation though, so there is a good reason not to do that and even lower it for freight carriers.

Don't necessarily assume that higher tax rates equal high tax revenues.

 

Fuel duties are rather flexible i.e. the more tax levied, the greater the return. Income taxes are much less flexible - people give up earning or take great efforts to hide it. There will be a limit to how high fuel duties go before people give up paying them or avoid them somehow. If we are near that point now (and we may well be) than lowering duties (or not raising them thus making them lower in 'real terms', accounting for inflation that is) could glean greater revenue as more people buy more fuel.

 

Having the top rate of Income tax at 45% raises more revenue than at 50%. When it was dropped from 80% to 60%,then to 40%, the amount of money raised shot up. 

 

Higher tax is not the same as more tax...

There will be a limit to how high fuel duties go before people give up paying them or avoid them somehow. If we are near that point now (and we may well be) than lowering duties (or not raising them thus making them lower in 'real terms', accounting for inflation that is) could glean greater revenue as more people buy more fuel.

 

 

Reached it and passed it some time ago.

 

Can't find the story now but earlier in the year it was announce that fuel duty taking were actually going down despite rises in price and duty. Same for VED