The economic respite for the transport industry will be cut short for UK hauliers who travel through the EU due to increasing toll charges. Eurocrats announced yesterday plans to increase toll charges by 30 per cent to help combat noise and air pollution.
Algirdas Šemeta, EU Commissioner for Taxation and Customs Union to the European Tax Policy Forum and Centre for European Policy Studies, stated, “Our objective is less about introducing a new tax than about restructuring energy taxation.”
UK Hauliers who operate in Europe are already charged a 18p per kilometre as part of EU law, however European transport companies are not charged for using UK roads.
Kate Gibbs of the Road Haulage Association said: “This will just be horrendous. We have to pay tolls when we go to Europe, but their lorry drivers don’t when they come here, as well as more in petrol and diesel tax.
“Hauliers are already operating at the very tightest possible margins. A 30 per cent rise in toll charges is too big to absorb. Consumers will see it passed on as the cost of all goods in all shops will rise.”
These costs will likely have a knock on effect on the wider public; critics have argued this would increase the price of food and other imported goods.
3 comments on “Bell tolls for EU hauliers”
why didnt this country charge them £5-£10 a day like belgium does at borders trucker ross
Here we go again the transport industry which is the life line of the nation getting screwed by the EU which in my opinion do not have a clue about the transport logistics either in the UK or indeed their own back yard.As Ross quite rightly pointed out we should be charging the foreign vehicles the same as we get charged in their patch.but again i am afraid its the toothless UK government and our own Transport Associations that stand by and let it happen to a haulage industry that’s on its knees and going further down.We as a nation are totally lacking a bit of up and at them attitude if we don’t like it we certainly don’t want.so come folks show some guts fight them back and show them we are not getting pushed around by an EU set of pen pushers who do not know their arse from their elbows on transport
Dave
i have been trucking for 35 yrs seen a few changes lost a lot of matesone way or another and owner drivers going down the drain every day due to this stupid government and laws if we try to stand up for our rights the law stops us as the french stick together including the police not like here i was held hostage on the motorway south of france when the french truckers blocked the country off stopped everything moving for 6 days till they goy what they wanted (points on licences) so why dont we do something and show we are british fuel road tax tolls insurance and parking charges at night why should we have to do a job and sleep in a lay by im sorry to say this but us true truckers are classed as tramps in this country but how would you move anything without us ross
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