Douglas Carswell's Blog

Cut deficit with smaller government, not bigger tax bills

In August the government is planning to increase fuel duty by 3p per litre.

Why? Because, ministers tell us, we have to cut the deficit.

Indeed we must, but here’s a thought, guys:  

Try cutting the deficit by making government smaller, rather than by giving everyone a larger tax bill.

Here is a graph showing how much the 3p fuel duty will bring in over a year.  It does not look like much against all the money being spent by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, DfID or BIS, does it? 

Each one of those departments could be rolled up into another Whitehall department – DCMS into the Home Office, DfID into the Foreign Office, BIS into the Treasury.  Their spending could be cut by far more than the 3p tax increase is expected to bring in.  

Do that, then I might support the 3p hike in fuel duty.

UPDATE:  The Treasury bods must have read this blog.  A few hours after I posted it, they announced that the 3p fuel tax hike is to be "postponed".  You heard it first on this blog.

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