The fuel card reseller, The Fuelcard Company, has launched a national campaign in support of the transport industry and its battle to bring down fuel tax in the UK. The campaign, Don’t Fleece Our Fleet, will travel round the country for six weeks, stopping at many of the country’s largest truck-stops in an attempt to raise awareness and increase support for the fleet industry .

With the price per litre now standing at GBP57.19, diesel duty in the UK is now easily the highest in the EU, and is more than double what some in the EU pay, especially with increases in fuel duty during the recession amounting to 15 per cent and further tax rises of about 5 per cent expected soon.

A cornerstone of the campaign is a petition that calls on the government to reduce fuel tax, or at least freeze it at 
its current level, or the fleet industry in the UK will suffer a great deal of damage.

The high rate of fuel tax also has an impact on motorists, as 75 per cent of the cost of diesel is made up of taxes, which will rise further when VAT goes up to 20 per cent next January.

Marketing director of The Fuelcard Company, Jakes de Kock, said We are calling on the Government to support the UK fleet industry which 
has suffered in the past few years with repeated fuel tax hikes leaving many 
companies fighting for survival. The latest measures announced in the 
emergency budget, including the increase in VAT and the change to capital allowances, will only serve to weaken the industry further.