Fuel Protest

[anne]

Lorry drivers have warned of possible "wildcat" action to come after taking part in a police-controlled protest in London against record high fuel prices.
Hundreds of hauliers were led through central London streets by police motorcyclists in a bid to get the Government to act on fuel prices which freight companies say are wrecking their businesses.
Although a section of the busy London-bound A40 Westway road in west London was closed so lorries could park, the protest was a non-disruptive one.
But Kent-based haulier Peter Carroll of the fuel protest group Transaction warned that unless Government policy changed, some drivers could take part in spontaneous and disruptive action.
At a rally for drivers on foot outside the Houses of Parliament, Mr Carroll said: "I fear that if the Government does not listen, they (drivers) might end up doing things that we would not condone but which we would understand."
And Mike Wright, 61, a driver with the Heathrow-based Roy Bowles airfreight transport company, said: "I can see wildcat protests taking place and it will not just be London that is affected. They will block every motorway in the country and then the Government might listen."
For the first time, a protest of this kind was backed by the Road Haulage Association (RHA), whose chief executive Roger King said it was vital that fuel duty for all transport modes were fixed at the same level throughout the EU.
He went on: "If the UK Government does not address this (fuel duty) problem there is going to be precious little of the haulage industry left."
Drivers had travelled from all over the country to line along Westway before being escorted through central London on a route which included Westminster Bridge.
After the on-foot rally, a number of hauliers went into the Houses of Parliament to lobby MPs.

['E']

Drastic times call for drastic measures, I don't know what it will take to get these outrageous prices down but a lot of governments might just end up regretting not taking action to bring the prices down, a lot of people are having to go without food & other necessities to put gas in their tanks, it's crazy.

[RingDancer]

Something sure needs to be done about this!!! More and more homeless people...More people hitting the day use areas for the electricity and water, showers, washing clothes etc...fuel cost no doubt!!!

[Tn Dirt Digger]

I believe you will see a lot more of that before its over.....I'm stunned that the folks on this side of the pond are still sitting still.....

[Buster]

More things will come from all of this..Just the tip of the iceburg,...Buster...

[homefire]

It would help if they start with this!

[edit] United Kingdom

Main article: Hydrocarbon oil duty
From 2007-10-01 the main road fuel (petrol and diesel) duty rate in the UK is GBP£0.5035 per litre (GBP£2.2890/imperial gal or GBP£1.9059/US gal). The rate for biodiesel and bioethanol is £0.3035/L (GBP£1.3797/imperial gal or GBP£1.1489/US gal).[1] Value Added Tax (VAT), currently at 17.5%, is also charged on the price of the fuel and on the duty. At a pump price of 128.8p/litre (typical for diesel as at May 2008), this would put the combined tax at 69.53p/litre, or approximately USD$5.20 per US gallon. Thus without tax, the retail price would be 59.26p per litre, making a combined tax rate of 117%.
Diesel for use by farmers and construction vehicles is coloured red and has a much reduced tax.
Jet fuel used for international aviation attracts no duty, and no VAT.

[edit] North America

Fuel taxes in Canada can vary greatly between locales. On average, about one-third of the total price of gas at the pump is tax. Excise taxes on gasoline and diesel are collected both federal and provincial governments, as well as by some select municipalities (Montreal, Vancouver, and Victoria); with combined excise taxes varying from 16.2 ¢/L (73.6 ¢/imperial gal; 61.2 ¢/US gal) in the Yukon to 30.5 ¢/L ($1.386/imperial gal; $1.153/US gal) in Vancouver. As well, the federal government and some provincial governments (Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, and Quebec) collect sales tax (GST and PST) on top of the retail price and the excise taxes.[2]
Fuel taxes in the United States vary by state. For the first quarter of 2008, the average state gasoline tax is 28.6 cents per US gallon, plus 18.4 cents per US gallon federal tax making the total 47 cents per US gallon (56 ¢/imperia gal; 12.4 ¢/L). For diesel, the average state tax is 29.2 cents per US gallon plus an additional 24.4 cents per US gallon federal tax making the total 53.6 cents US per gallon (64.3 ¢/imperial gal; 14.2 ¢/L).[3]

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