UK fuel tax cuts among lowest in Europe

The UK is one of the European countries that has done the least to support drivers with rising fuel, according to new RAC Europe data analysis.

In March, the Government announced a 5p cut in fuel duty to help ease the burden of surging prices.

Of the 13 European countries to reduce fuel tax, the UK ranks 12th.

Germany has taken the equivalent of 25p a litre in tax off of petrol, Italy 21p, Portugal 16p and both Ireland and the Netherlands nearly 15p.

In addition, as an alternative to cutting fuel duty, governments of other countries in the EU have introduced fuel discounts at forecourt tills with Spain taking off 17p and France 15p, while some fuel retailers including TotalEnergies in France and BP Spain have discounts running of up to 33p per litre.

Of the remaining 15 EU states that haven’t taken steps to lower pump prices since March, all but six already charge less fuel duty than the UK.

RAC fuel spokesman Simon Williams said: “This analysis lays bare an uncomfortable truth for the UK Government – that compared to other European countries, it’s pretty much done the least to support drivers through the current period of record high fuel prices. The result is the UK being one of the most expensive places to fill up and putting it above other countries that have historically charged more for fuel than UK retailers do, including France and the Netherlands.

“Perhaps even more frustratingly, those countries that have not cut tax on fuel at all since March – including Greece and Austria – are still cheaper than the UK. At the opposite end of the spectrum, some other nations have done a huge amount with Portugal cutting duty an incredible seven times since March, and France and Spain both offering significant discounts on fuel at the checkout.”

UK pump prices have started to fall in recent days, but the average price of a litre of both petrol and diesel is well above the current EU averages of 159p and 161p respectively. The UK is currently the joint-second most expensive country when it comes to the average cost of a litre of petrol (186p) – behind only Finland (190p) with Denmark also at 186p – and the second most expensive for diesel at 195p per litre, with only Sweden charging more (201p).