Pro-environment levies administered by the government are bleeding taxpayers dry, it has been suggested.
Britons are paying £800 a year extra in unnecessary "green" taxes, a provocative report has claimed.
According to the study, which was released yesterday by pressure group the TaxPayers' Alliance (TPA), a total annual bill of £19.6 billion is being overcharged from the levies by the government - with the environment used for justification. In total, green taxes cost the general public around £33 billion each year.
Examples of over-large or unnecessary taxes cited by the report include climate change levy, energy firms' renewables obligation and landfill tax. Motorists were claimed to be particularly hard done by, being hit by the one-two punch of fuel duty and vehicle excise duty.
Speaking to the Daily Mail, TaxPayers' Alliance policy analyst Matthew Sinclair commented: "Green taxes are set far higher than is necessary to pay for our carbon footprint, which loads an unfair burden onto hard pressed British families and businesses.
"With the credit crunch squeezing household budgets, people can ill afford this extra tax grab. It's dishonest and unjust for politicians to wrap revenue raising tax hikes in a green banner."
He added: "The Government are talking about raising taxes even further, but our conclusions show that green taxes should be kept as they are or cut."
