§ I come now to the indirect taxes.
§ I propose no change in the present rate of value added tax.
§ In successive Budgets I have sought to establish the sensible presumption that the excise duties should be adjusted broadly in line with the movement of prices from one year to the next. This is essential if we are to maintain the right balance between direct and indirect taxes.
§ This year, too, I intend to follow the same approach. But our success in reducing inflation means that the increases I shall be announcing will be much smaller than in recent years. The additional revenue I shall be seeking 147 from duty changes this year is about half of the comparable figure in 1980 and 1982 and about a quarter of that in 1981.
§ I start with the duties on alcoholic drinks. I propose to increase the duties from midnight tonight by amounts which represent, including VAT, about 25p on a bottle of spirits, 5p on a bottle of table wine, 7p on a bottle of sherry and 1p on the price of a typical pint of beer. On cider, which is increasingly competing with beer, I propose a similar increase of 1p a pint.
§ As for tobacco, I propose to increase the duty by the equivalent, including VAT, of 3p on the price of a packet of 20 cigarettes. There will be consequential increases for cigars and hand-rolling tobacco, but no increase for pipe tobacco. That is not just in deference either to my hon. Friend the Member for Birmingham, Selly Oak (Mr. Beaumont-Dark) or to the right hon. Member for Huyton (Sir H. Wilson), but it gives me the opportunity to reassure the right hon. Member for Huyton that the pipe in his pocket has not been devalued. These changes will take effect from midnight on Thursday.
§ Next,the oil duties. I am conscious of the concern felt by a number of my hon. Friends about the effects of increases in duties on petrol and derv. But at a time when world oil prices are falling it would not be right to allow the real value of the duties to be eroded significantly. I propose therefore to increase the duty on petrol by about 4p a gallon, including VAT. In the case of dery I propose an increase, including VAT, of about 3p a gallon. These changes will take effect for oil delivered from refineries and warehouses from 6 pm tonight.
§ As in the last two years, I propose no change in the rate of duty on heavy fuel oil. The real burden of this duty will thus have been reduced since 1980 by some 20 per cent. This will be of considerable continuing assistance to industry, since it will help to hold down its energy costs.
§ I also propose a number of changes in the rates of vehicle excise duty. For cars and light vans the duty will be increased by £5, from £80 to £85. On goods vehicles, the new duty structure introduced last year allows me to spread the burden more fairly. In order to bring the rates of duty more nearly into line with the costs the various categories of lorry impose on the road system, I propose to increase the duty on some 190,000 heavy vehicles. This means that I shall, on the same lines, be able to reduce by approximately 10 per cent. the rates of duty on some 315,000 lighter commercial vehicles. These changes will take effect from tomorrow.
§ The total effect of all the changes in excise duties will be to raise additional revenue of some £600 million a year. But let me emphasise again that this implies virtually no change in the real burden of indirect taxes in 1983–84. The immediate effect will be to add about 0ֵ4 per cent. to the overall level of prices. This has been taken fully into account in the price forecasts which I have given to the House.