Robert Halfon calls for further action on fuel duty

Petrol companies could have to publish a break down of how much motorists are paying in fuel duty on their garage receipts, a leading MP has said.

Robert Halfon, Tory MP for Harlow, is tabling a Private Members Bill next week, aimed at making petrol prices more transparent.

Mr Halfon’s Bill will seek to change the law, so that the level of fuel duty and the amount spent on roads will be shown on every single garage receipt.

Presently these figures are not stripped out, disguising the fact that fuel duty and VAT together make up more than 60 per cent of pump prices.

In a speech in the House of Commons, Mr Halfon will also urge the Government to scrap the 3p rise in fuel duty that is currently planned for January 2013.

Mr Halfon will say that the Government must be a strong champion of “White Van Conservatism”, and introduce “further cuts in fuel duty; certainly no more rises”.

Mr Halfon’s campaign is backed by FairFuelUK, who have gathered over 15,000 signatures on a petition.

Mr Halfon said: Less than one fifth of the money raised by motoring tax is actually spent on Britain’s roads. At the moment, fuel duty is NOT shown on garage receipts.

“It is a stealth tax, and this is wrong. That’s why I am calling for proper transparency on receipts.”

In the summer Chancellor George Osborne delayed a planned 3p increase in fuel duty from August 1 to January 1 next year after an outcry from motorists’ groups.

Mr Halfon added: “The Government [should also] scrap the 3p rise that is planned for January - as they did before. Petrol is expensive enough as it is.”

A Treasury spokesman said: “It is a commercial decision for individual petrol retailers to decide what information to provide in receipts.

"However, the Government has introduced targeted policies to improve transparency where it can within the personal tax system."