fuel duty

As if the news isn’t bad enough right now, with no end to lockdown any time soon and more misery through to the new year if the news is to be believed.

And now news reaches us here at Cheap Van Insurance that the Chancellor, Rishi Sunak, is considering adding a levy to drivers to plug the £40 million-pound gap in the economy.

How is he planning to do this? By charging drivers to use the roads.

Isn’t that what road tax is for?

Apparently not. The deficit in the government coffers comes from the switch to electric vehicles, which we have all been encouraged to make, with grants and discounts for those who have already made the switch. The government is planning to ban the sale of petrol, cars earlier than planned, now with a rumoured end date of 2030, just 9 years from now.

And of course, there is also a darker side to this. If it wasn’t bad enough already, consider how they will charge per distance travelled? That’s right, enforced black boxes in all of our vehicles to track where we are going and what we are doing. It’s a dystopian future that none of us really want to contemplate, but may soon be coming to a vehicle near you.

Bad news for van drivers up and down the UK, as chancellor Rishi Sunak has hinted at a double whammy of tax increases incoming next year for van drivers.

He is looking to not only end the freeze on fuel duty, but also increase taxes for the self-employed next year. Fuel duty has not been increased in over 10 years, but in a blow to van drivers, this looks set to change as the chancellor looks to find ways to pay back the cost of the COVID crisis.

The suggested increase appears to be somewhere between 3-5p per litre, putting a decent whack of change on the cost of filling your tax next April onwards. This is a tough blow for many, following on from the impact that COVID has had on many households up and down the UK. Fuel duty is currently 57.95p per litre and has been that amount since 2011. There’s no doubt an increase will upset many voters, who are already facing huge difficulties as a result of COVID measures taken by the government, especially the lack of help and support for the newly self-employed.

And if that wasn’t bad enough, it seems that self-employed van drivers will also see their National Insurance contributions go up, from the current rate of 9 per cent, to 12 per cent, in line with the amount currently paid by employees. There appears to be a lot of resistance to this, given that the self-employed do not receive the same rights as the employed, in terms of sick pay, annual leave, redundancy pay and more.

So, we are glad here at Cheap Van Insurance that at least we continue to do what we do best, and help you save a packet on your van insurance. It sounds like you may need the savings next year.

Tag: fuel duty

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