The reduction of 2.5% in the VAT has been balanced by an increase in Fuel Tax of the same amount. You can bet your bottom dollar that when the 2.5% goes back on VAT in 2010 it won't reduce Fuel Tax by the same amount.

Drivers hit with 2p a litre fuel stealth tax from today in £1.2m windfall for Darling | Mail Online

It did strike me that if this shower really wanted to help the beleagured economy then as fuel is so much at the core of most things in this country with transportation of goods, services and public and private transport that addressing that would be a simpler and more effective boost.

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Like all people who don't know what to do this Government believes that having a big pot of money will always provide an answer. Therefore their mantra is tax at every possible opportunity. They have no clue what to do with the money but to them having a lot of it must be a good thing. Problem is there is a difference between cash and assets, something to do with deployment. Sadly this shower will never understand that.

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Cogito ergo doleo

Businesses that are VAT registered and claim back the VAT on business mileage will end up paying more for fuel now because they can only claim back the VAT, not duty.

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Good judgement comes from Experience. Experience comes from bad judgement.

It is all a big con at the end of the day. I have never seen a Government who has had so many twists and turns at extracting money from the public and commerce as this shower of financial incompetents. Almost every tax which has been introduced since they came to power in 1997 has been by stealth. Despite the American problems with mortgages and banks lending more than they should this Governments financial ineptitude has shown what a poor Chancellor Gordon "Bottler" Brown has been. His bluster on prudence and "no more boom and bust" has been shown to be a complete lie and deception.

Discovery is perfectly right in his evaluation of the effects on transport and services relative to VAT. Darling should have reduced fuel tax as well as the reduction in VAT and reclaiming extra fuel tax by increasing fuel duty by 2p per litre to cover the VAT reduction is just criminal. I have said before that this Government do not want to get elected for a third term and they are out to make it as difficult as they can for whoever does get into Government next.