In Europe and Japan, taxes are a larger component of fuel prices than all other factors combined. In fact, French truckers went out on strike to obtain a 20 percent cut in taxes. But the country’s socialist government would only agree to a 15 percent cut.
Speaking in New York last week, Saudi crown prince Abdullah advised Western countries to reconsider their high levels of gasoline taxation.
By contrast, taxes add an average of RSA 72 cents to a R2.31 litre of petrol selling for a total of R3.03 in the U.S. And Canada’s officials collect R1.44 cents out of every R3.51 litre of petrol sold.
Small wonder that as petrol prices have jumped in recent months, protests have also broken out in Britain, Australia, New Zealand and a number of countries across Southeast Asia.
Source: Editorial, “The French Are on to Something,” Investor’s Business Daily, September 11, 2000.
For more on Energy Taxes http://www.ncpa.org/pi/taxes/tax41.htm
