Fuel Tax Hike is Punitive and Compounds Difficulties Faced by NI Businesses, says UUP
Commenting on the 2p per litre increase today in the Governments fuel duty Cllr Mark Cosgrove the UUP Trade and Tourism spokesperson said that this punitive tax will continue to have profound implications.
Cllr Cosgrove, a major shareholder in a multi million pound logistics business said,
“Within the Road Haulage sector which has had numerous business causalities due to the unfair competition of cheaper foreign operators, today’s increase and the three further planned increases will leave the transport sector with little option than to pass on these costs to customers who in turn will be forced to pass them on to the consumer. This will have the effect of forcing our supermarkets and others to look at cheaper foreign competitors or reduce already tiny margins for hard pressed manufacturing sector”. Calling for the decoupling of the general consumer (normal car users) from the main industries that depend on fuel for their actual survival Cllr Cosgrove added ” this tax and spend Labour Government has caused massive damage to Northern Irelands competitiveness with a further unnecessary increase in Fuel Duty. Northern Ireland is the only part of the United Kingdom with a land border to a cheaper EU competitor and these increases will again affect the ability of Northern Ireland to attract fuel dependant industries to come here.
In addition to the entire Transport Industry I call on all politicians and business leaders in positions of influence to lobby this government on this issue. Linking people who depend on fuel for their financial survival and the thousands of jobs that are linked to this to the continued assault by this government on the take home income of the average citizen is economic madness and must be stopped.”