And almost half of the retail prices for petrol and diesel are the result of taxes, whether on fuel taxes or VAT, over which the government undoubtedly has control. The current rate of fuel tax in the UK is 52.95 pa per liter, including the 5 p cut in March. There is also a 20 pc VAT rate on top.
Therefore, the reason it is so difficult to fill the car is that Vladimir Putin decided to invade Ukraine, the world responded by imposing sanctions on the third oil-producing nation, energy prices skyrocketed and the Treasury response to this geopolitical crisis was the fiscal equivalent of the broken wind in a hurricane. There really is no need for research to tell you any of this.
Is there a problem with the lack of competition on the tracks? Few other retailers have to advertise their prices to two decimal places in high digits, so customers who are already literally on the move only need, in the vast majority of cases, to continue driving a few more minutes to find an alternative.
Of course, this is not always the case in rural areas, but in more populated places, these rival vendors include large supermarket chains that often use their massive purchasing power to sell fuel at a loss to lure customers to make their own. weekly store. .
The Association of Gas Merchants is firmly committed to shifting the fuel tax and notes that yard owners are struggling to cope with their own spiraling costs, including higher staff salaries and prices. of energy.
The trade association says that “competition between courtyards is still strong and … our members operate at very thin margins.” And while I would obviously say that, there is no blatant evidence to the contrary.
The average price of a liter of gasoline is 185.44 p. Of this, 52.8 pc is the wholesale price of fuel plus delivery costs. 45.6% more are taxes, VAT and taxes on greenhouse gases (which, before anyone gets excited, only account for about 0.4% of the total cost).