British motorists are shouldering the heaviest tax burden in the EU at the pumps, official figures reveal.
Sixty per cent of the price of unleaded petrol and 58 per cent of the cost of diesel is made up of duties and VAT in Britain, the highest percentages in the European Union.
Campaigners meet Treasury minister Chloe Smith today to demand action for millions of drivers who are already facing a regular £100 fill up for an average family-size car.
The figures show that the soaring tax take has made overall diesel pump prices in Britain the highest in the EU, while the price of unleaded petrol is the eighth highest.
The mid-January price for diesel in the UK was 141.3p a litre. But without tax and duties, it would be only 59.8p. Unleaded petrol cost 132.9p, although without tax and duties it would be a much more manageable 52.8p.
Even since the analysis was completed, pump prices have continued to soar.
At the weekend one garage on the M6 was spotted selling diesel for 150p a litre.
The disclosure comes just days after Chancellor George Osborne refused to slash fuel duty in next month’s Budget, saying he had already done enough to help drivers and that ‘the British government has run out of money’.
The only country which comes anywhere near our levels for diesel motorists is Italy, where 53 per cent of the cost is accounted for by taxes and duties.
France and Germany are on 47 per cent and 48 per cent respectively, while the lowest tax take is in Luxembourg: 38 per cent.
In total UK drivers pay a third more for diesel than their counterparts in Luxembourg, according to the figures, published in the European Commission’s Oil Bulletin and available in the House of Commons Library.
There is a similar story with unleaded petrol. Some 60 per cent of the pump price in Britain is down to tax and duties – just ahead of Greece, Italy, Netherlands and Sweden on 59 per cent.
The lowest tax takes are in Cyprus, where just 43 per cent comes from tax and duties. British drivers spend almost 30 per cent more to fill up than those in Cyprus.
Last night there was growing support from Tory backbenchers for the Chancellor to do something in the Budget to reduce the price of petrol.
Tory backbench MP Philip Davies, who obtained the figures, said: ‘Fuel duty is already too high and hard-pressed families can’t afford to pay even more.
‘The Government’s debt crisis was caused by spending being too high, not taxes being too low and therefore the solution to the problem is for the Government to cut its spending – not to kick people in the teeth with higher taxes.’
The Chancellor cut fuel duty by 1p a litre in last year’s Budget and announced in his Autumn Statement that a scheduled 3p rise would be postponed until August.
Diesel pump prices last month were 141.4p a litre, up 25 per cent over the past two years, the highest in Europe with only Italy anywhere near on 139.1p.
Britain does not do as badly on unleaded petrol in terms of final pump price.
The UK’s price of 132.9p (up 19 per cent over the past two years) is only the eighth highest out of the 27 members of the EU. The highest prices are in Italy, where they pay 141.4p a litre.
Prices in Britain are expected to continue rising because fuel duty is planned to rise every year by at least the rate of inflation, regardless of what happens to the price of oil.
In addition, the other tax levied on fuel, VAT, is charged at the standard rate. So as the price of fuel rises, the amount of VAT charged also rises.
Last night Tory MP Priti Patel said: ‘These figures confirm what all fuel consumers recognise; that they are paying record prices on the pump.
‘This has to be a long-term question for the Chancellor and government in general about how sustainable this is in the long run.
‘People are more squeezed than ever just now, and every opportunity should be made in the Budget to address this issue about fuel duty.’
Campaign group FairFuelUK said high levels of fuel duty meant that petrol pump prices were now around 20p a litre more expensive than the EU average.
Quentin Willson, the group’s main spokesman, said: ‘We pay tax on our earnings so that we can buy these vital commodities, and then we pay VAT on the fuel duty.
‘The Europe league table of fuel duty levels is one which we should not be top of. Today we will be meeting the Treasury to demonstrate that a cut in duty will help Treasury revenues, not harm them.’
Last night a spokesman for the Treasury said: ‘At the Autumn Statement, the Government took more action to help households with motoring costs by freezing fuel duty until August and scrapping a second planned rise altogether.
‘The Government listened to genuine concerns from motorists and delivered support worth more than £4billion over two years.
‘Petrol and diesel will be an average of 10 pence per litre cheaper than if we had proceeded with the previous government’s [plans].’
Cathy Jamieson, a Treasury spokesman for Labour, said: ‘Fuel campaigners are absolutely right to highlight that hard-pressed families already being hit hard by tax rises and spending cuts that go too far and too fast are once again being squeezed by rising petrol prices.
‘George Osborne needs to take action in his Budget to ease the squeeze and boost jobs and growth.
‘A temporary cut in VAT would give immediate relief to hard-pressed motorists by taking almost 3p off the price of a litre of petrol and help jump-start our stalled economy too.’
