Motorists suffer again as new year petrol duty and VAT rises bite

Less than two weeks after reports of petrol prices reaching record highs, motorists once again face the prospect of handing over more money to the Treasury thanks to new increases in petrol duty and VAT.

A rise in petrol duty came into force on New Year's Day to put another 0.76p on a litre of petrol and diesel while on 4 January the VAT rise of 2.5% to 20% will mean another hike for long-suffering drivers who have seen a litre of unleaded rise from an average of 107p in January 2010 to 124p today.