SME Business News

Alistair Darling must be ruing the day he accepted the position as Chancellor of the Exchequer. Almost every proposal he has made, has been hit by criticism from all quarters. As he attempts to refinance the treasury after Gordon Brown’s terrible book keeping the Chancellor has become the Labour party scapegoat for their financial failings over the years.

Businesses of all sizes are quite rightly concerned over the proposed increase in fuel duty of .02p per litre due to come into force on April 1st. The Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) has urged the government to listen to its members and issued the following statement from  Chris Glen FSB Transport Chairman:

“Fuel prices are hurting small businesses and their customers in every sector and in every area of the country, Now is not the time for the Government to be adding to their problems by increasing fuel duty. After a really tough year and several major tax increases, small businesses deserve a break.”

The message is clear from members in all areas of the country and in all sectors, that small companies have absorbed increases particularly in fuel increases over the last twelve months, and are no longer able to do so. These costs have to passed on to the consumer further increasing the cost of living for all.

The garden centre and pet shop owner
Karen Baldwin, West Wales, said: “Our wholesalers have put up their costs because of fuel prices and one has stopped delivering to this area altogether. Often we have to drive long distances ourselves to get the things in stock that our customers want.”

The taxi driver
Doug Thorogood, East Sussex, said: “Increases in the amount I can charge customers are set by the local authority and these have been nowhere near the increases in my fuel costs. A little while ago I was spending about four hundred a month on fuel. Now, it’s more like five or six hundred.”

The contract cleaning company owner
Steve Brown, South Yorkshire, said: “We have seven vans, which we use to get to our customers all over the country. Our fuel bills have gone up by 14 percent in the past year. If there’s another increase in fuel duty we will have little choice but to pass this on to our customers.”

The haulier
Rachael Pickford, Wiltshire, said: “A couple of extra pennies on a litre of fuel in your car doesn’t sound like much, but when you’re talking about tens of thousands of litres it’s a different story. We’re paying up to a thousand pounds extra a month.”