Solidarity slams fuel tax

Thu, 12 Jun 2008

With rocketing fuel prices, government on Wednesday came under fire from trade union Solidarity for pocketing R23-billion in fuel taxes.

"A Solidarity report shows that government got more than R23-billion from fuel prices last year," the union's spokesperson Jaco Kleynhans said.

"Approximately R1.27 from every litre of fuel sold in South Africa goes to the National Treasury."

He said the sharply increasing oil prices meant that South African consumers were faced with a crisis that could be alleviated with effective government intervention.

"Rebates and other measures should be reviewed in times of crisis, such as we are experiencing at the moment," Kleynhans said.

The union said that government could relieve the burden on struggling consumers by implementing a number of temporary and permanent measures.

Kleynhans said an investigative team would weigh up the viability of several options and find a solution that would serve the interests of the consumer.

Solidarity also called for a renewed investigation into the Road Accident Fund.

"Consumers currently pay 46.5c/litre to this fund, which has already been characterised as inefficient and corrupt. This fund is not managed in the interests of road users," Kleynhans said.