In the first of our series we look at the options of abolishing tax on petrol.
Currently petrol prices are rising each
month but why should we be taxed on something we use on a daily basis, the purpose of tax is to generate income for the country and also to discourage us from using things. But why petrol?
Without petrol we could not survive in the modern world, we are not taxed on oxygen so why should we be taxed on something else that we all need to survive.
On the face of it we think of petrol as the fuel for our cars and we generally accept being taxed on petrol as it''s polluting the environment and is in low supply. But look at it in another way, by raising taxes on petrol we are not only hitting the motorist but the pedestrian, our children and everyone else in the country.
Petrol is used to fuel the lorries that deliver our food to the supermarkets, get our emergency services around and get our nurses and doctors to work. By
taxing petrol we are effectively taxing food, water, health, public services and everything else we rely on to live.
Even if we just looked at private transport and looked at taxing the private motorist, is putting up prices the answer to the environment? No. Instead our government needs to look at investing in alternatives. We are encouraged to use public transport, but by taxing petrol you are increasing public transport costs and not giving commuters any real cost effective alternative.
So if we abolished tax on petrol, what else could we tax to offset the lost revenue. Here are a few suggestions:-
Increase tax on tobacco and alcohol.
By increasing tax on tobacco and alcohol we only effect the people that use it. The price of alcohol in supermarkets should be increased and all special offers should be banned to discourage binge drinking.
Increase the road tax on large cars / sports cars / people carriers / 4x4''s.
Why not increase road tax on large cars that pollute the environment such as sports cars, people carriers and 4x4''s. If you want such cars, you should pay the premium and not everyone else.
Increase income tax
I will look more into this subject later, but for now increase it. I would happily pay more income tax to offset tax on petrol. Think about it, reduced traveling costs could encourage more people to look for work and improve the employment numbers and increase the amount of people paying income tax.
What do you think, Would you abolish tax on petrol or let the government continue increasing it until you are paying £2.00 per litre