"Iain Churches" wrote

David wrote;
And of course whilst the tax is higher here than in the US, it's also
lower than it is in many European countries.

If you can call three "many":-)

Well OK, "several" if you prefer. But contrary to what Keith was implying we
are not the most expensive in Europe let alone the rest of the world.

The UK has it seems jumped from fifteenth to fourth in
the ratings, with only Sweden, Denmark and Holland
at higher levels.

It's several years since I've had to buy petrol in continental Europe, but I
well remember it being quite a bit more expensive in some countries
including France. Of course the last UK government made a policy of
increasing fuel duty faster than inflation, it looks like the present
government will abandon that.

What is important is whether or not people think they
are getting good value for their money.

Absolutely. People have to decide whether they want a particular product at
the price for which it is available here and now. The fact that a similar
product may be available elswhere for less is of little relevance to making
that decision unless they are able to take advantage of that lower price. In
the past that was rarely possible, unless you happened to be travelling to
the country concerned and the item itself was portable enough. These days we
have the internet, and people are increasingly buying from around the world
that way. But watch the postage costs and import duties!