§ 19. Mr. Sydney Chapmanasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what was the total revenue derived from the vehicle excise duty, purchase tax on vehicles, and excise duty on hydrocarbon oils, respectively, in the last year for which figures are available.
§ Mr. HigginsIn the financial year 1970–71, motor vehicle duties yielded £421 million, purchase tax on vehicles £267 million and the hydrocarbon oil duty £1,396 million, of which £1,263 million was in respect of road fuel.
§ Mr. ChapmanMy hon. Friend knows that £621 million was expended in the same year on the provision of new and the maintenance of existing roads. Since it is the erroneous belief of many motorists that this is all they get back from the vast sums which they pay in tax, will my hon. Friend, as a matter of urgency, consider publishing—at least before the Budget statement—the true cost of the maintenance of roads and provision of new roads by local authorities as well as by the central Government, such costs including road signs, markings, clearing and cleaning of roads, policing and traffic signals?
§ Mr. HigginsI will certainly consider what my hon. Friend said. However, a more fundamental point which needs to be made is that in many ways the viewpoint which he has summarised is misconceived since expenditure on roads is governed by the amount of resources which we can afford to allocate to them in competition with other claims on the national product.
§ Mr. DalyellOn hydrocarbon oils, is the Treasury considering the proposals put forward in last year's Finance Bill about favourable treatment for liquefied petroleum gas?
§ Mr. HigginsThe hon. Gentleman knows that we have dealt with this matter, which was raised in earlier Questions this afternoon, in debate. We are still considering the rate which should be charged. I hope that we shall make an announcement soon.