Scottish fuel prices highest in Europe

Tax on fuel has always been a touchy subject to the residents of Britain and the latest news that Scotland is paying the most for diesel in all of Europe has not come as much of surprise but has been met with anger. The Chancellor was urged late last week to reduce the tax as farmers and the public in the highlands were not getting a fair deal. They are currently paying 13p more than the European Union average and a whopping 30p more than those in Eastern Europe. It is estimated that the UK has fuel at one of the cheapest rates in the EU, but once the tax is added, it accounts for around two thirds of the price we pay at the petrol pumps.

The UK has suffered long and hard with tax that we are charged for our fuel and over the last 10 years some independent petrol station owners have had a tax free day of fuel their customers to highlight the massive tax to those that were unsuspecting. Queues would go for miles as word quickly spread about the cheap fuel. Businesses are particularly affected by the charge of fuel with haulage firms struggling to deal with the heavy prices they have to pay for fuel which then operates a chain reaction down the line to the consumer at the end. There have been regular protests by lorry drivers and taxi drivers in London from all over the UK. Roads would be tail-backed as they took their strong army of supporters to a meeting at Downing Street.

Tax on fuel does not look like it will be lowered in the near future, as the government is aiming for a greener Britain. It is believed that if they lowered fuel tax,  this would encourage motorists back into their cars instead of using public transport.