§ Mr. McLeavyasked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will obtain from international organisations, of which he and they are members, comparative rates of tax per gallon of derv fuel used by road transport in Great Britain and in France, West Germany, Italy, Sweden, Eire, Switzerland, Austria, Finland, Portugal, Greece, Belgium, Norway, Denmark and the Netherlands; and if he will publish the figures.
§ Mr. du CannDifferences in the structure of the various duties and taxes levied on hydrocarbon oils in the countries named make precice comparison of levels of taxation impossible and, so far as I am aware, no up-to-date figures are190W available from international organisations of which the United Kingdom Government is a member. Bearing in mind the difficulties of comparison it is, however, estimated that the total burden of taxation on derv fuel used by road transport in the countries named is approximately as follows:
Approximate total duty and tax burden per gallon s. d. Great Britain 2 9 France 2 11 West Germany 2 6 Italy 2 8 Sweden 2 1 Eire 2 2 Switzerland 1 8 Austria 1 3 Finland 9 Portugal 1 3 Greece 1 0 Belgium 5 Norway 2 Denmark Nil Netherlands 2