SJ_Skyline

Just reading through the numbers, what happened between 1996 and 1998?

My memory fails me but the UK price for PUL went from $88/100l to $108/100l and the rest of Europe dropped their prices by an almost similar amount.

johnfelstead

we got shafted is what happened.

johnfelstead

Opec countries
Saudi Arabia (11.9%), Iran (5.1%), Venezuela (4.7%), Iraq (3.6%), United Arab Emirates (3.2%), Nigeria (2.9), Libya (2%), Indonesia (2%), Algeria (1.6%), Qatar (1%)

Non-Opec countries
United States (10.3%), Russia (8.8%), Mexico (4.8%), China (4.6%), Norway (4.3%), UK (4%), Canada (3.5%)

(Percentages of world oil output)

I would say based on those figures the UK is a major oil producer, we produce more oil than Iraq! Puts things into perspective really.

EvilBevel

JF, you do have to see the big tax picture as well though.

Average tax/social security on labour in 2001:

UK : 25.8 % (lowest in Europe)
Belgium : 43.8 %
Sweden : 49.1 %

Source: Eurostat.

That's before all the VAT, tax etc you pay on yer consumption goods Or the 3.000 UKP you pay for having a numberplate on yer Impreza in Belgium.

Wanna swap ?

johnfelstead

In the US, tax accounts for 22% of the cost of a litre of petrol, while in the UK - the highest fuel-taxing country, it accounts for almost 73%.

The UK government says its reasons for keeping fuel taxes high are to provide a financial incentive to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and to raise revenue.

In the US, an average person consumes more than four times as much fuel as the rest of the world, and more than twice as much as in Europe.

johnfelstead

only a mug lives in Belgium Theo, especially when Luxembourg is a few miles away and has the highest wealth and lowest tax burden of europe.

EvilBevel

Touché LOL

EvilBevel

But Luxemburg has a higher tax on labour than the UK BTW (30.3 %)

And that's just the tax the employee pays... include employer and things get even uglier

Luxemburg lives solely on the back of desoriented UK Ring trippers

johnfelstead

wondered when that was coming. LOL

At least it saved me a packet when i filled up (plus i got the chance to embaras a testarossa )

johnfelstead

and the UK tax burden on wages is higher than 30% when you add National insurance on top (even before you become a 40% income tax paying higher earner)

EvilBevel

Would have been rude not to

OK, can you tell me more about National Insurance ? I honestly don't know what it is.

Still, the stats I provided were "averages", you can get up to 80 % scales in Belgium too.

Maybe we should compare a "normal" wage... say 1.500 UKP ?

Well, that costs the employer 3.000 UKP, and leaves the employee with about 800 UKP over here. That's 2.200 UKP in the governments kitty...

Still don't want to swap ?

Oh, and we have great roads too ! Ask Ben Lovejoy LOL

NACRO

Father Pierre said quote: "I was in France last week and it's was about 92p per litre there, couldn't believe it"

I don't know where you bought that fuel but I pay 97 euro cents per litre for Shell 98 RON- a lot cheaper than in the UK I think you'll find even with the crappy exchange rate.

polarbearit

New Labour's 6% above inflation petrol price escalator

I remember in about 1996 petrol was something like 55p/l couple of years later and it was 69.9p

SJ_Skyline

cheers

new labour - same old horse$hit! [img]images/smilies/mad.gif[/img]

scunnered

iTrader: (1)

Lets not forget the fuel tax escalator was started by the TORIES.

SJ_Skyline

I have said it many times before:

We storm 10 downing street and force Tony Bliar to eat 15lbs of bananas!