Down by 5p per litre
Fuel duty is being cut by 5p per litre to help motorists with the cost of filling up which has increased because of the crisis in Ukraine.
From 6pm tonight fuel duty will fall from 57.95p per litre on both petrol and diesel to 52.95p per litre.
The cut will be in place for a year.
The saving for drivers should be slightly more than 5p per litre because VAT at 20% is levied on the whole product price including the duty.
The move was announced by the chancellor in the spring statement. The Treasury says that “this measure represents a tax cut of around £2.4 billion over the next year. When compared with uprating fuel duty in 2022-23, cutting fuel duty to this level delivers savings for consumers worth over £5 billion over the next year and will save the average UK car driver around £100, van driver around £200 and haulier around £1,500, based on average fuel consumption.”
In recent weeks the price of a barrel of Brent crude oil has risen as high as $130. Today it has been trading at around $120 per barrel.
The increases in the cost of oil have led to record pump prices of around 167p per litre for petrol and 179p per litre for diesel.
Commenting on the announcement, Steve Gooding, director of the RAC Foundation, said:
Steve Gooding, director of the RAC Foundation, said:
“The Chancellor’s move doesn’t go very far to help low wage key workers who rely on a car to get to their place of employment, often at times which are ‘antisocial’ and when other travel options are non-existent.
“If ministers don’t want to directly cut the pump price any further then how about earmarking some of the windfall profits the Treasury is making from VAT on fuel to provide a bigger cushion to those on the lowest incomes through universal credit or some form of mobility benefit which could also be used on public transport?”
A selection of interactive fuel-related charts are available in the data section of the RAC Foundation website.
ENDS
Contact:
Philip Gomm – Head of External Communications – RAC Foundation
07711 776448 | [email protected]
Notes to Editors:
The RAC Foundation is a transport policy and research organisation that explores the economic, mobility, safety and environmental issues relating to roads and their users.
The Foundation publishes independent and authoritative research with which it promotes informed debate and advocates policy in the interest of the responsible motorist. All the Foundation’s work is available at:www.racfoundation.org