GST on top of fuel duty is immoral, say garages
MOTOR industry figures have reacted in frustration to the possibility of motorists paying GST on top of already-high rates of fuel duty.
If proposals are successful, the 5% GST on fuel would apply to the full price at the point of purchase, including the duty.
In the UK, VAT is applied after fuel duty.
Currently duty on unleaded petrol is about 80p per litre, compared to about 50p per litre in the UK.
Trev’s Garage owner Trevor Hockey said he felt betrayed by some of the deputies who are now backing GST.
‘I feel incredibly let down,’ he said. ‘A lot of my customers are against it.’
Mr Hockey added that he thought an additional tax on fuel duty would be ‘highly immoral’.
Robert Cornelius, managing director of Forest Road Garage and president of the Guernsey Motor Trades Association, said that he supported the anti-GST movement.
‘I appreciate that the States may need more money, but I don’t think introducing an additional tax during a cost-of-living crisis is the way to go about it,’ he said.
Mr Cornelius added that he thought it was inevitable that, if introduced, the initial GST rate of 5% would increase because people would be more reluctant to buy goods and services, and so there would be a need to make up the loss of revenue.
‘Fuel is already expensive. Over here we pay 80.9p per litre of fuel as tax, which is more than the UK. We should find other alternatives of raising the money, like reforming the civil service,’ he said.
Andre Whiteway, of Whiteway Motors, said that he has put anti-GST posters up in his garage which have received considerable support from customers.
He also encouraged the States to consider looking at introducing alternative options to GST, such as paid parking.
Nigel Staples, a prominent member of the Guernsey Fuel and Oil Watch Facebook page, said he was ‘on the fence’.
‘My gut feeling is to be against GST, but I don’t know what the solution would be instead. I do have some sympathy for P&R as there are no easy answers,’ he said.
Mr Staples added that he had little trust in the States implementing a regressive tax such as GST.
‘In the last few years we’ve seen duty on things like fuel, alcohol and tobacco rise at faster levels than the level of inflation. The States’ history is not good, and I’m worried that GST will just end up being another cash cow for them,’ he said.
The average price of unleaded petrol in the UK is about 150p per litre, compared with about 170p per litre currently in Guernsey.
With 5% GST added, the price would rise to about 178.5p.
