Budget 2016: Fuel duty frozen by chancellor George Osborne for the sixth year in a row to save the average driver £75 per year
The chancellor has said that fuel duty will be frozen for the sixth year in a row, as part of the 2016 Budget.
George Osborne claims the move will save the average driver £75 a year.
Osborne said: "We had pencilled in an inflation rise, but fuel duty will be frozen for the sixth year in a row. It's the tax boost that will keep Britain on the move."
Many people had expected the chancellor to hike the tax after it being on freeze for so long.
Last month motoring group the AA begged the tax not to be raised, arguing it makes up a substantial amount of the typical family's household bills, despite recent price drops.
The price of fuel has come down sharply in the last 20 months as the price of oil has fallen on a supply glut.
The price of a barrel of oil has fallen from $115 to just $27 in January. It has rebounded somewhat since then and is currently trading around $40.
Forecourts around the country have lowered prices to under £1 per litre of petrol for the first time in a decade.
Some have claimed the freeze doesn't go far enough in reducing costs to motorists.
Steve Gooding, director of the RAC Foundation, said: “Transport is the biggest area of household expenditure bar none, but 38m drivers will be relieved it didn’t just get bigger still. And the Chancellor will hardly be out of pocket. As it stands, tax on petrol and diesel still accounts for about 75 per cent of the pump price and Mr Osborne remains on course to collect more than £27bn in fuel duty alone next year.”
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