The Chancellor, John Healey, has drawn up plans to announce a 'green tax' on imported fuel in Wednesday's Budget, the Telegraph reports. The paper says the plans have prompted fears that petrol prices could rise.
The report gives no rate, no revenue estimate and no start date. It also does not say what would count as imported fuel. The Treasury has not confirmed it, and the claim has not been independently checked.
The report points in a different direction from earlier coverage of pump prices. The Financial Times reported on 14 October that Mr Healey is expected to drop planned fuel duty rises. Bloomberg has reported that a temporary VAT cut on petrol is under consideration.
Without a rate or a definition, it is not possible to say how much a tax on imported fuel would add to prices at the pump, if anything. Mr Healey delivers the Budget to the Commons on Wednesday 28 October.