Why tax on fuel must come down

VAT at 20 per cent, Fuel prices at record levels, national insurance on the up, food prices rising, services to be cut. The list goes on.

I’ve done nothing wrong the 30 years I’ve been in work. I have paid my council tax and bills on time. My credit card is paid off straight away. Taxes are paid and the car is insured and taxed. Yet as a worker on an average salary I’m being told I have to pay for other people's mistakes.

The bankers, the Labour government’s overspending, the world economy, the list also goes on. When are people going to start taking responsibility for their actions instead of the ordinary working man having to stump up?

When tax is increased to an working man the impact is worse than on a well-paid professional. Barnsley people’s habits have changed and I’m sure the picture is same in many a town.

As a family, we no longer take weekend trips to the countryside. We’ve scrapped the monthly trip to the shopping Mall, the twice-yearly trip to the seaside, the trip to the out-of-town cinema, the safari park and the occasional outing to Old Trafford.

The Saturday night chippy for four is now only twice a month if we are lucky. The trip to Blockbuster is now once a month. Why? Because we can’t afford the fuel to get us there and we are fed up with the taxation. Can you imagine the impact on small business if most of us are doing this?

Surely businesses and communities will disappear if we do not stop the heavy taxation that this and previous governments are hell bent on pursuing.

I’m not the brightest person in the world but surely if I have a few quid in my pocket I’m more likely to spend a few quid which in turn will help businesses thrive and offer employment to our youngsters and the local community.

Where does it end? Will parents stop taking their kids to play football, cricket, to the gymnastics competition, the junior dance competition and other events because they can’t afford the fuel? This will be devastating for the businesses surrounding these interests.

Many businesses rely on our support and as much as the environmentalists dislike them, cars are an essential part of that process.

Tax luxuries and then we can decide if we want that luxury, but fuel is not a luxury. Tax has to be decreased because the Government is  killing us and our communities.