MOTORISTS NOT TARGETTED IN BROWN’S BUDGET 

The 'freeze' on the level of duty imposed on petrol and diesel announced by the Chancellor until 1st September 2006 was today welcomed by the Maxol Group.  

Brian Donaldson, General Manager, Marketing and Retail, of the Maxol Group said: ‘The Chancellor has again chosen to adopt the tactic of deferring any rise in fuel duty until September of this year. No immediate increase in duty is obviously good news for Northern Ireland’s motorists and we can only hope that the government will, as in previous years, abandon the promised rise. 

“Motorists in Northern Ireland continue to pay ‘over the odds’ for petrol and diesel as a direct result of the high duty excise rates imposed by the Government in the UK making it one of the most expensive places to purchase fuel in Europe. It is worth noting that over 76% of the price of petrol and diesel at the pump goes straight to the government in the form of duty and tax.” 

“Maxol is currently conducting a number of trials in the Republic of Ireland using bio-ethanol fuels and is hoping to introduce bio-diesel in Northern Ireland in 2006.