Rishi Sunak has ruled out a fuel tax hike after concluding that reliance on cars as a transportation safety measure is still too big during the pandemic, according to the Treasury Department.
The Chancellor is believed to have been seriously considering an increase ahead of his previous budget in March last year to send a signal for the UK government’s green agenda.
The Treasury Department also considered an increase of up to 5p per liter from March 2021 on the assumption that the UK would return to near normal transport usage.
“More and more people are using cars as a safer form of transportation,” said a Treasury Department source. “And electric vehicles are very costly right now – that seems like the priority that needs to be addressed.”
The Chancellor can also extend the initiative that drivers of electric cars will not pay the company any benefits in kind until April 2021.
The decision not to hike the fuel tax means it has been frozen at 58p a liter for 10 years after a major tabloid campaign that has cost the Treasury Department an estimated more than £ 50 billion in lost revenue.
However, an increase in the coming years is seen as inevitable as more motorists switch to electric cars, which could result in a sharp drop in Treasury Department revenue unless it leads to an increase in tariffs.
A letter from MPs to Sunak, organized by the Fair Fuel Campaign, urged the Chancellor on Wednesday not to increase the fuel tax and even to consider cutting it.
The letter from 26 MPs said: “Any increase would have a disproportionate impact on low-wage workers and workers outside London.” He referred to the Prime Minister’s commitment in 2019 not to increase the tax.
The March 3 budget is expected to extend the Covid support packages until at least the end of June. Boris Johnson’s roadmap for lifting restrictions calls for all borders to social interaction to be lifted by June 21st.
These include the extension of the vacation program, which is expected to cost up to £ 4 billion per month, vacation rates for retail, hospitality and leisure, and VAT cuts for hospitality and tourism. The Times reported Wednesday that the stamp duty vacation will also be extended.
