Given that tax at the pump is what - about 2/3 (?) of the price charged by the stations - how can our government get away with charging so much in comparison to other countries? Its insane.
In the US, they're doubtless paying assorted other taxes at higher rates than here, to make up the difference.
We're not so unusual in the UK - look at pump prices across Europe. Why are they comparable, and often slightly higher?
Doubtless - but can you think of any? Talking to my brother in MI the other night suggests he pays less for just about everything. Fine wine and food are more expensive than in the UK.
Certain brands of European cars are much more expensive in the US. I suppose if you look into you will find a broad balance but there will always be some differences. Talking to people that I know that have moved to live in the US they say that it is cheaper to live overall - but I suppose it depends on how you live your life.
Hhahahahahahah
Err no.
Errm they're not. UK pump prices tend to be higher, full stop. Compared to Luxembourg and Switzerland pump prices here are incredibly high.
Besides, France and Italy which come close in terms of pump prices (althopugh still lower than the UK) have an infrastructure which is worth having. Not the decrepit road system that the UK "enjoys".
Not to mention countries elsewhere in the world - in NZ for instance - I read a few months ago they pay something like 60p a litre (wow almost double what the Americans pay!) - and they're in the middle of nowhere where it should be more expensive to get it there (like in Scotland when I visited the other day some garage in the Highlands charging 102p a litre).
Couldn't agree with you more.
He actually works for GM and we have discussed this before. That is true but there is a huge choice of vehicles and the expensive ones tend not to be manufactured in the US.
Precisely because oil is so cheap, even at $70 per barrel it only works out around 14p a pint. By comparison our farmers are moaning about 20p per pint of milk, whilst an oil company has to find oil, drill it, pipe it, then eventually refine it into end product, transport it and retail it for less than that.
Aside from alcohol and tobacco, what else could you tax twice at 80% marginal rate and people would continue to consume it? Crude oil is cheaper than milk, orange juice even bottled water.
If people seriously think oil is expensive then they haven't seen anything yet.
Granted - but all the oil companies have just made record profits - something you wouldn't expect farmers to do, so even though its "cheap" the volumes they sell are phenomenol, and hence so are the profits.
Well I agree, it does seem cheap when you put it into a context like that, and if the price goes up and the government have to cut their portion of it, then that's not necessarily a bad thing, but if they don't cut their taxation on it soon, the whole world is going to be in for a rough ride (and that's not even because of the poor state of some of the roads!)...
Really? What we consider to be a highend 3litre BMW in this country is often cheaper than the entry level model in the UK, obviously with a low spec and small engine. That probably says more about the cost of fuel and exchange rates though.
California is now voting on a new 12% local income tax rate, on top of the
Yes, obviously volumes are a factor but oil companies simply make a margin, in reality most oil production out there is controlled by state organisations, the vast majority of production in fact.
The US oil majors control around 6% of production combined, that's why it doesn't really wash when some Americans decide to engage in some populist bashing. In order bring new oil sources on stream they need to explore and exploit new reserves, they won't have money or incentive to do that if their margins are taxed away. That's precisely why exploration rigs are now leaving the North Sea for friendlier waters following Brown's tax raid earlier this year.
<In the same way one could argue that fuel taxation needs to double in order to bring about some demand destruction that will eventually cut back demand and bring about some real conservation. i.e. Not using a mini-personal carrier with a 5L V8 engine simply to fetch a 30p bottle of milk.
This is a global problem, fuel consumption has been pretty stable in the UK for the last 20 years, however North Sea production is now dropping off so we have to dip into international markets to make up the shortfall, this is at exactly the same time when the emerging markets are devouring energy.
Maybe we were wrong to treat oil as a commodity in the first place, we've been quite wasteful with it. If you think oil is a problem then just look at the even worse predicament that is natural gas.
It's not the oil price that needs to be lowered, but our own expectations.
Their road system is good precisely because you have to pay additional tolls on trunk routes, this often goes to private companies.
You are obviously better informed than me. Yesterday, for instance, the top UK Corp Tax was 30% while in the US it was 34%. Which of those figures changed this morning?
Eh? They jolly well are. Unless you're getting your Euros very cheaply, you'll find there is little difference - and typically you'll pay more in, say, France (excepting the occasional unmanned station).
What do you mean by "incredibly"? Slightly, maybe - but then their navies cost less :-)
No they're not.
For speed, I'd rather drive round the M25 than the peripherique anytime. And have you ever compared the motorway maps of France & Britain? Seen any motorways in Brittany? Or looked at the route from Lyon to Monaco? And you've obviously forgotten that they also charge motorway tolls throughout Switzerland, Italy and most of France. Yet their petrol still costs as much as in the UK.
Or rather they pay lots of money for medical care, whereas is it mostly free here.
You will find that taxable profits calculated under US rules are probably lower than those calculated under UK rules.
I don't know what prices are in the UK but unleaded is 1.25 euros and diesel 1.15 euros at a manned station in France today which I make 86.5 and 79.9p per litre. Is that more or less than typical in the UK?
Seen any new motorways built in Britain recently? Lyon to Monaco - well there are some bloody big hills in the way so go down to Marseille and across - the roads are generally clear and quick unlike say the M5 or M1.
France might have motorway tolls but not in conurbations, only on the bits in between and there is no annual road tax. Instead there is a one off fee to register your car, eg. ford focus registration fee ~180 euros which is about the cost of 1 years RFL.
Cheers
D.
Exactly! People always conveniently forget about the incredible cost of health insurance (to either the individual or their employer) in the USA. On balance I suspect we're no worse off financially and quite a lot better off culturally. That's worth a few quid of anyone's hard-earned money.
Andrew McP
Yeah. Try getting an Alpina in the US. ;)
Such comparison are meaningless without knowing exactly how the basis of the tax is calculated. More generous allowances or tax credits can compensate for higher nominal rates. I don't know enough about corporate taxation to make a comparison.
It is certainly a fact that the various levels of governments in the US takes less in taxes as proportion of GDP than in the UK. The tax burden in the UK has been increasing steadily since the Blair and Brown took over, but I have not noticed a corresponding increase in the standard of public services.
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