– Gulf Oil criticises proposed Carbon tax
One of Irelands leading independent fuel distributors, Gulf Oil, today, strongly criticised the Government’s proposed carbon tax as adding yet another financial burden on hard pressed consumers.
Studies show that this carbon tax will add €70 to an annual car fuel bill and €54 to the price of 1,000 litres of home heating oil. Currently just under 70% of the retail price of petrol is tax at the moment, and Colm Hamrogue of Gulf Oil Ireland believes that the intended carbon tax will not reduce carbon emissions; ‘In the middle of winter, just before Christmas and at a very unstable economic period, people will face an increase in fuel and home heating prices because of this carbon tax. The drive to cut carbon emissions should be focused on incentivising business to cut carbon, not on placing additional taxes on the already hard pressed community’.
The widespread public perception that the car is very environmentally damaging is often hugely overstated. Figures from Sustainable Energy Ireland show that 13.2% of Ireland’s greenhouse gas emissions come from private cars. This is a significant contribution but much smaller than other sectors. Crucially, car emissions are reducing rapidly as new cars are more fuel efficient than ever before.
About Gulf Oil
Gulf Oil was founded in 1901 at the time of discovery of oil at Spindletop, Texas. Gulf Oil opened the first drive through filling station in the world and Orange Disc logo. The Gulf orange disc has grown to an iconic status since its creation, enjoying strong brand recognition with people from all parts of the world. Gulf Oil has a vast history in its association with motorsports, particularly Aston Martin and the Le Mans 24 hour race. Also nobody could forget the legendary Steven McQueen in this astonishing performance in the film, Le Mans.
Gulf Oil was introduced to Ireland by National Oil Brands Ltd, a company controlled by Sligo based business man Dermot Fallon. Dermot has a long family history in the service station industry and he developed a national lubricants oil distribution business in the Republic of Ireland.