The next hike in fuel duty is set to come into effect in April. But yesterday the Chancellor George Osborne hinted that he may not go ahead with it. Last week we showed that motorists were excessively taxed by £17.9 billion in 2008-09, projected to £22.3 billion in 2015-16. Motorists are already getting a rough deal, so another increase in April would hit millions of ordinary families in the pocket.
Combine this with VAT hikes and the cost of living for taxpayers becomes even higher. Punitive tax hikes like these will hinder economic growth, and impact on everyday things like the School run and driving to shops. It's good to see the Chancellor is reconsidering this; hopefully he follows through and scraps this tax rise, and looks at ways to ease the burden on families and businesses in the Budget.