The August 24th deadline for diesel excise duty cuts is approaching, and a price hike is materializing in the first post-August holiday season. A price-control measure is costly for the government, but six EU countries, including Italy, are proposing a community-wide tax on oil companies' extra profits , whose profits are skyrocketing. This increased revenue could then be used for measures to help consumers and businesses struggling with energy prices.
The finance ministers of Germany, Italy, Austria, Poland, and Portugal, along with the Spanish finance minister, reportedly sent the joint letter to the finance minister of Ireland, which holds the rotating EU presidency. The ministers urged that the tax issue be placed on the agenda of a meeting of the bloc's finance ministers in Dublin next month.
Fuel prices, moreover, are soaring, with gasoline and diesel prices hitting new records. Today, August 23, the average price of self-service diesel in Sardinia is €2.141 per liter, while gasoline is €2.022 . And barring unexpected calls, a cabinet meeting to approve new measures doesn't appear to be on the horizon before September.
A boost for the opposition, which is going on the offensive: "We've made a concrete proposal," says Democratic Party secretary Elly Schlein, "to adopt a mobile excise tax system, but the government isn't listening to us on this point, and gasoline remains above two euros per liter." Five Star Movement leader Giuseppe Conte immediately called on his social media profiles for a special cabinet meeting to address fuel prices. "The cost of returning home from vacation," Codacons estimates, "between fuel, tolls, and parking at service stations, can reach around 270 euros per family, reaching nearly 300." Assoutenti is calling on the government to cut excise taxes "at least until September 6." The resources, Assoutenti also suggests, should come from extra profits from energy companies, oil companies, banks, and insurance companies. The UNC estimates that "gasoline prices have reached a historic record" in recent years, while "the government is asleep and hibernating."
The 17 cent per litre cut in diesel prices (14 cents plus VAT), decided by the government on 28 July and extended on 4 August with a commitment of 245 million euros, remains in effect until midnight on 24 August.
(Unioneonline)