Small firms brace for incoming fuel duty hike
Added by Love Business East Midlands | 25 February 2023
UPDATED: 28 February 2023
Small firms brace for incoming fuel duty hike
- Without Government intervention, small firms are facing the highest rise in fuel duty in 12 years.
- 54% of firms who saw a rise in business expenses blamed fuel as one of the main causes.
- Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) is calling on the Chancellor to scrap the planned rise in the Spring Budget.
Small firms grappling with rising fuel costs are calling on the Chancellor to scrap the planned increase at the upcoming Spring Budget.
Fuel tax is due to increase by 23%, 12p a litre, in April.
But Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) research shows that this could have big consequences for small firms in both rural and urban areas.
In total, 89% of firms reported an increase in the cost of running their business this year – and in the East Midlands 61% of rural businesses cite fuel costs as one of the main drivers, while this drops to 51% for city-based firms.
Rural-based firms across the East Midlands are at a higher risk of potentially needing to downsize, close or radically change their business model (18%) compared with 12% in urban areas.
This fuel duty hike could intensify the cost-of-living crisis, with road users set to collectively face an extra £5.7billion in taxes.
FSB Development Manager Jennifer Thomas said:
“The Chancellor didn’t mention this fuel tax bombshell in his Autumn Statement, with the Government instead slipping it out in weighty official documents afterwards.
“If fuel duty rises as planned, it would represent a missed opportunity to remove one of the obstacles that will hinder growth – but the Chancellor still has the power to rectify that mistake in next month’s Spring Statement.
“Small firms are already struggling with a cost of doing business crisis, led by rampant inflation and high energy bills. This is the worst possible time to pile on extra taxes.
“FSB is particularly concerned about the impact this will have on rural small firms – for instance, a cosy coffee shop in the southwest that relies on customers driving there if petrol becomes more expensive. Firms that rely on cars and vans for petrol, such as delivery services, tradespeople and farmers, would also bear the weight of the impact.
“The Government must support the small businesses that form the backbone of our rural economy. But now, many of these businesses face the harsh reality of downsizing, closing or changing their business models."
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