Govt urged to act on fuel VAT

The Government should scrap a 2003 VAT increase on petrol and diesel in light of rising fuel costs, it was claimed today.

Fine Gael called on Finance Minister Brian Cowen to scrap the 1% levy introduced in the forthcoming Budget.

A fuel survey by the opposition party showed that petrol and diesel prices in Dublin have soared by as much as 27% in the last year.

“At the time this was an opportunistic measure, but now it is adding to the suffering of beleaguered motorists,” said Enterprise, Trade and Employment spokesman Phil Hogan.

“Given that the price of oil is likely to continue rising, the Government must use the next Budget to lower VAT on fuel by 1%.

“The Government should also use the Budget to review excise duty in the light of soaring oil prices and the damage which this is doing to the economy.”

The Fine Gael survey found:

:: the Texaco filling station on the Malahide Road increased its price for diesel from 82.9c a year ago to 105.5 euro (27%) now

:: The most expensive garage in the survey for both unleaded petrol and diesel was Statoil on Usher’s Quay, which was charging 107.9 euro for a litre of both fuels

:: The cheapest for unleaded petrol was Esso on the Finglas Road at 103.9 euro per litre

:: The cheapest for diesel was also on the Finglas Road with the Esso, Tesco, and Shell garages charging 101.9 euro per litre.