Diesel Duty

HC Deb 18 July 1996 vol 281 cc603-4W

Mr. Devlin

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the cost to the Exchequer of reducing the duty on commercial diesel by £0.09 per litre. [37981]

Mr. Heathcoat-Amory

The last published "Tax Ready Reckoner and Tax Reliefs" by HM Treasury shows that reducing the duty rate on road diesel by 9p would cost around £1.5 billion in the first full year, measured against a non-indexed base.

Mr. Devlin

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the cost to the Exchequer of reducing duty on diesel to the European average. [37980]

Mr. Heathcoat-Amory

The last published 'Tax Ready Reckoner and Tax Reliefs" by HM Treasury shows that reducing the duty rate on road diesel by approximately 6p to the European average would cost around £1 billion in the first full year, measured against a non-indexed base.