Posts Tagged ‘Transport’
Jim Ferguson’s concern over housing in Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey
“Liberal Democrats have announced they will add VAT to new build houses. Home building industry body Homes for Scotland, whose membership provides 95% of all homes built for sale in Scotland as well as an increasingly significant proportion of affordable housing, today unsurprisingly slammed Liberal Democrat proposals to add VAT to new build homes if elected to Government and so do I.
We are in desperate need of social and “truly affordable” housing for rental with 10,000 people on the Highland Council Housing Waiting List.
Those on local average earnings have little chance of accessing mortgages since the Banking crisis.
Most work locally and need housing in the areas where they work. Spiralling petrol and diesel costs make it even more difficult for those on lower incomes who live in rural areas, hence my concern on this issue.
Members of the public have made clear their dismay over Labour Government’s failure to control immigration.
Nick Clegg’s Liberal Democrat comments, recently broadcast, have incensed the electorate when stating Inverness and other areas need more migrants! Gordon Brown’s Labour “open borders” policy has been a complete failure. Massive increases in migration have resulted in overstretched Public Services. The increased cost of the Benefits System underpinning the policy could have major economic consequences.
If migrants are to be welcomed, we must ensure crucial infrastructure is in place, including jobs, education, health and housing and naturally the ability to cope with the diversity of languages involved which is particularly difficult in rural areas.
We need to develop Tourism further as it is a principal Highlands industry and vital for local economy creating crucial meaningful jobs and provide the necessary homes for these people.
We need a common sense approach to address Highlands problems.
Jim Ferguson
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Press Release 21st April 2010
Lib Dem proposal increasing cost of new homes sheer madness
Home building industry body Homes for Scotland, whose membership provides 95% of all homes built for sale in Scotland as well as an increasingly significant proportion of affordable housing, today slammed Liberal Democrat proposals to add VAT to new build homes if elected to Government.
On the day that Tavish Scott launched the party’s manifesto in Scotland, the organisation’s Chief Executive Jonathan Fair said:
“Somehow, the Liberal Democrats seem to be unaware that Scotland, not to mention the UK as a whole, is facing its worst housing crisis since the Second World War. Not only has our industry lost up to half its workforce, development is touching an all-time low and vital First Time Buyers are struggling to find deposits of up to 25%. Any measure increasing the cost of new homes, whether in the public or private sector, is sheer madness and will simply exacerbate the problems we as a country already face.”
Ends
Enquiries to:
Jennifer Kennedy, Homes for Scotland – 0131 455 8350
Notes to Editors:
Homes for Scotland (www.homesforscotland.com) represents the country’s home building industry which, prior to the onset of the credit crunch,:
- was the largest source of private investment in Scotland and the largest user of the planning system
- built 20,000 new homes, contributed £6bn to the economy and directly impacted the employment of 100,000 people (2007 figures)
Half the industry’s directly employed jobs have already been lost and Scottish new build housing output has plummeted, presenting far-reaching and long-term social and economic consequences.
Click here to read Homes for Scotland’s “building for their future” appeal to MPs as they prepare to enter the election season.
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Scottish Conservatives launch campaign for fairer fuel prices
Speaking at the launch of a fair fuel price campaign, Annabel Goldie MSP, Scottish Conservative Leader says:
“Labour and the SNP are both responsible for the high fuel prices. The Labour Government at Westminster has taxed so much that we have record fuel prices when oil is half the price it was two years ago.
“The SNP Government in Scotland has increased rates for local garage owners by up to 50% and is forcing many of them out of business. The new rates valuation brought in under the SNP penalises independent rural petrol stations because they are charged the same rates as supermarkets, but can’t get the same deals on fuel prices from wholesalers.
“The SNP may not be able to do anything at Westminster because they are irrelevant, but they are in Government in Scotland so can’t pass the buck on this issue.
“Conservatives want to ensure fairer fuel prices and increase the number of petrol stations eligible for rates relief to bring pump prices down.”
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Conservative plan for a fuel duty stabiliser will be a welcome relief for drivers as petrol prices hit an all-time high
It was back in 2008 that George Osborne first announced Tory plans for a fuel duty stabiliser – an idea which was first proposed by Andrew Lilico.
The idea is simple: when the oil price is high, the fuel duty will be lowered, and vice versa.
And little would George Osborne have known in 2008 that the 2010 general election would be fought at a time when the price of petrol would be hitting an all-time high at £1.20 a litre – nearly £6 a gallon in “old money”.
And today’s Telegraph suggests that right now the introduction of the fuel duty stabiliser would probably see the price of petrol at the pump today being reduced by 10p a litre under the Conservative plan:
“The move will be funded from the increased taxes the Government raises from other levies on oil companies when wholesale prices rise… However, it is likely to prove controversial when oil prices fall as fuel duty will rise again.”
“The details of the scheme – including the price at which petrol will “stabilise” – will be the subject of a consultation launched soon after a Conservative election victory. It is expected to be launched within months if Mr Cameron is successful.
“Last night, a senior Conservative source said: “We are very straight with people. This is not a tax giveaway – instead it is a sensible, balanced policy that protects families from big increases in the oil price. When the oil price rockets, the tax falls and the petrol price at the pump stays stable – and vice-versa when the oil price falls.”
The public anger at the cost of petrol should not be underestimated and this policy provides another popular doorstep-ready policy for Conservatives to take to the electorate.
Jonathan Isaby
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Fuel Tax
Fuel tax is an imposed sales tax put on the sale of fuel. Frequently, fuel tax is looked upon as a source of general revenue, with some being put towards the maintenance of roads and highways.
Fuel Tax in the UK
Fuel tax in the UK is constantly changing and has risen steadily over the last 15 years. Between 1993 and 1999 there was a rapid increase with duties on fuel increasing by 3% above inflation. This was due to a major change in petrol taxation in 1993 when the Conservatives introduced the Fuel Price ‘escalator’. This was a way of the government making money and also to help protect the environment by discouraging people from using their cars.
Fuel Escalator Forces Prices Up
This fuel escalator forced prices up from one of the lowest in Europe to now one of the most expensive. When it was first added, fuel prices rose by 3 pence a litre and tax contributed to 72.8% of the total cost. By 1997 the escalator had added 11.1p to the cost of unleaded petrol and was at 75%. It didn’t get any better when the conservatives left office and Gordon Brown took over, as the escalator increased and 3 pence was added per litre. This took tax up to an incredible 81.5% of the total price of fuel.
Fuel Tax and the 2000 Fuel Protests
Despite the fuel escalator being abandoned in 1999, fuel prices did continue to rise rapidly, with a 2 pence a litre rise after the 2000 budget, contributing to the fuel protest. These rises were however argued by the government to be as a result of increasing oil costs rather than tax increases. This argument does hold some truth when we look at the graph above, showing that although the overall price of fuel has risen, the percentage of tax has stayed relatively constant and even dropped slightly this year.
In April 2005, tax on petrol and diesel were charged at 47.1 pence a litre which with VAT added also, the total taxation makes up a huge 69.9% of the price we paid for unleaded and 67.3% for diesel.
British drivers pay two taxes on petrol they buy at the pump and fuel campaigners complain about the fact that VAT is charged on the cost of fuel and the duty and feel it should only be calculated on the cost of the fuel for a fairer petrol price.
Duty on fuel in the UK increased again on 1 October 2007, with an increase of 2.00 pence a litre on unleaded and diesel and an even greater increase on LPG and natural gas. See the fuel duty for all fuels below:
2007 Fuel Tax Figures
2007 fuel duty (as of 1 October 2007) in the United Kingdom was:
- 50.35 pence per litre for ultra-low sulphur unleaded petrol/diesel
- 53.65 pence per litre for conventional unleaded petrol
- 56.94 pence per litre for conventional diesel
- 30.35 pence per litre for bio-diesel and bio ethanol – low tax to encourage consumer conversion
- 16.49 pence per kg for gas other than natural gas (LPG)
- 13.70 pence per kg for natural gas used as road fuel.
- 9.69 pence per litre for rebated gas oil (red diesel)
- 9.29 pence per litre for rebated fuel oil
As of 1 October 2007 effective rates of duty for non-road fuels increased by 2 ppl. These rates are set to be increased by the same percentage as the main road fuels on 1 April 2008 and again on 1 April 2009.
From 1 October 2007 duty rates for unleaded petrol, leaded petrol, aviation gasoline and other heavy oil used as road fuel were increased by the same percentage as the main road fuels.
2009 Fuel Tax Figures
2009 fuel duty (as of 1 September 2009) in the United Kingdom is:
- 56.19 pence per litre for main road fuels, unleaded petrol and diesel
- 65.91 pence per litre for leaded petrol
- 36.19 pence per litre for biodiesel and bioethanol
- 22.16 pence per kg for road fuel natural gas
- 27.67 pence per kg for road fuel liquefied petroleum gas (‘LPG’)
On 1 December 2008 a permanent 2p increase in fuel tax was introduced to offset the rate cut in VAT from 17.5% to 15% bringing the duty rate for the main road fuels up to 52.35p per litre.
On 1 April 2009 the duty rate for unleaded petrol and diesel was icreased by 1.84 ppl to 54.19p per litre and again on 1 September 2009 by 2 ppl to reach the current level of 56.19 per litre. These rates will be increased further on 1 April 2010 to 2013 by 1ppl above indexation each year.
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