Duty to regulate
Were the price of fuel to go back to some semblance of normality in between panic measures, I might be persuaded, but this is now tantamount to theft by the companies involved.
MRS S POLSON
Main Street
Crossford
With the AA warning fuel could reach 1.20 per litre (your report, 17 March), it is vital that a fuel duty regulator is introduced at the forthcoming Budget to stabilise fuel prices. A regulator mechanism is designed to guarantee a double protection for motorists and the road haulage industry. Higher oil prices would trigger an automatic freeze in fuel duty rates, and any extra cash raised from VAT on petrol or diesel as a result would go back into an equivalent cut in fuel duty.
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Hide AdSky high fuel taxes are indiscriminate and are effectively a poll tax on wheels. And it's not just hauliers who suffer, but ordinary families struggling to run a car for normal use. High fuel taxes also impact on prices in the stores, with costs rising to deliver food and other products to the shops.
An oil-rich nation like Scotland should be reaping the benefits from our offshore resources, not watching as North Sea revenues flow into a black hole in Treasury coffers while the Scottish budget is slashed.
ALEX ORR
Bryson Road
Edinburgh