In three weeks, tax becomes more than half of what a litre of petrol costs you Right now you're paying 159.9p, and 79.6p of that goes to the government Fuel duty takes 52.95p, then VAT adds 26.6p on top of everything including the duty, so you're taxed on the tax. That works out at 49.8%. Just under half On 1 September the duty climbs a penny, which on today's prices tips it to 50.2%. Two more pennies in December, another two in March, and the government's share reaches 51.6% Fill a 55 litre tank today and £43.78 of that £88 is tax. By March it's £47 That's the 5p cut from 2022 gone. From April 2027 it rises every year on its own From September, you're buying tax with a bit of petrol attached.....