Gordon Brown warns petrol retailers to reduce petrol prices
In a move which is sure to prompt cries of hypocrisy Gordon Brown has called for petrol retailers to reduce their prices to less than one pound a litre to reflect the reduction in the oil price. However, as no doubt he will be reminded over the next few days, the vast majority of the price you pay at the pump actually goes back to the government in taxes.
The call from a conference in Brussels is sure to receive a somewhat frosty reception in the petrol retail industry where owners have been struggling to make ends meet for some time. If the government were so keen to assist with the reduction of petrol all they would need to do was reduce the amount of tax paid by the consumer. However, as we have seen in the past, despite the government's renewed attempts to hit the motorist with an array of taxes to get them off the road, the authorities still rely heavily on their tax drop from the sale of petrol.
Even if the government wanted to reduce tax on fuel, which seems something of a dream to be honest, the public finances would not be able to withstand ANY reduction at the moment.
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