Fool

The Government announced today that they are to write to the petrol-selling folk to tell them that the oil price has fallen by 20% and the pump price has only fallen by 5% and that this isn't good enough.

That's a fact.

80% of the price the consumer pays at the pump goes to the Treasury, in Fuel Duty (with VAT compounded on that duty).

That's a fact, too.

Take the price of petrol as £1.25.

80% of that is a quid.

The petrol you're paying for is 25p.

If that falls by 20%, it's now 20p. Add the quid that the Treasury takes, it's £1.20.

Now, 5% off the original £1.25 is 6¼p. So you should be paying £1.25 - 6¼p, which is £1.18¾p.

So you're paying 1¼p per litre too much for fuel, unless you go to TESCO, ASDA, Morrison's. And many others, in which case you're paying less. And you're getting more than 5% off. You can shop around, it's your choice. All petrol is much the same, and there aren't many refiners.

The petrol-selling folk sell a lot of petrol. And they employ a lot of people, who pay tax to the Treasury.

And the government is going to write to the petrol-selling folk to tell them to be fair.

I know who you need to write to.

So now who's a fuel fool?

Any rocket scientists, politicians, mathematicians out there want to argue?