Saturday, November 18, 2006

Call to cut tax on green fuels

A LEADING Councillor in Gateshead has called for tax on green fuels to be cut. Speaking at a meeting of Gateshead Council, Dr Jonathan Wallace said that duty on “biodiesel” should be lower than petrol and ordinary diesel to encourage people to switch to using it.

Gateshead and Newcastle Councils have entered an agreement to use “biodiesel” in some of their vehicles.

“Biofuel” contain a proportion of fuel produced from oilseed rape plants that are grown specifically for the purpose. The rest of the fuel is ordinary diesel.

“Biodiesel contains fuel from renewable sources,” said Dr wallace, “so it adds less polluting carbon dioxide, the main greenhouse gas, to the atmosphere.

“But the government charges the same duty per litre on biodiesel as on ordinary, more polluting diesel. This means there is no direct financial incentive to use the cleaner, greener fuel.

“Were the duty on biodiesel to be less, it would encourage more people to use it and would create a bigger market for cleaner, greener fuels.”

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