There are now just a few days left until the excise duty cut expires and the extension is awaited to avoid a rise in prices. The “discount” of 24.4 cents will in fact end on May 1st and, without a decision from the executive, starting from May 2nd prices will start to grow again. Petrol will be close to two euros per litre, while diesel risks becoming the most expensive in Europe. For this reason, solutions are being sought: help for hauliers and low incomes is envisaged.
This means that the Government could decide on discounts reserved only for some categories. The reason behind the selection is the cost of cutting excise duties, which for 45 days has already exceeded half a billion euros; to finance new extensions an additional 500-600 million euros would be needed. Without resources, the total extension risks falling through: the only alternative would be to select the beneficiaries.
Excise duty discount: who will benefit from it?
Thursday 30 April is the last day for the Government to evaluate the extension of the cut in excise duties on fuel for all motorists. We are thinking about two alternatives to a total extension, namely that of allowing the discount only to some categories.
As reported by RepublicGovernment technicians are apparently working on two options:
- aid reserved for hauliers;
- bonus for lower incomes.
The two hypotheses on the table therefore concern a small audience of subjects.
Aid to hauliers
In the first case we are talking about hauliers. These would continue to benefit from the 20% tax credit for the purchase of diesel.
The measure had already been cited by Matteo Salvini as necessary to avoid the backlash of the truck strike called from 25 to 29 May.
The proposal would act as a deterrent against protest, but would also serve to limit the impact of the increase in diesel on goods and services traveling by road.
The problem remains of identifying compensation compatible with European legislation on state aid. There could also be critical issues from a resource point of view.
Bonus for lower incomes
The other group of beneficiaries would be low-income earners. There is talk of a petrol bonus for those who are already beneficiaries of the “Dedicated to you” card. It was hypothesized, even before the decree that cut excise duties, to load a sum of 100 euros onto the card reserved for the purchase of fuel only for the weakest groups.
The generalized intervention cost much more, which is why we are now thinking about supporting certain categories.
What happens on May 2nd
The executive is therefore thinking about selecting the categories to support as an alternative to a generalized extension. In the prospect of a further extension of 15-20 days, the question to which an answer is sought is where to find the resources. To finance the new extension, an additional 500-600 million euros would be needed.
The figure is difficult to identify and for this reason targeted aid is being considered. This means that for all other motorists, starting from May 2nd, the cost of petrol and diesel will increase by 24.4 cents per litre.
Without the cut in excise duties, in fact, petrol will approach 2 euros per liter and diesel will exceed 2.3 euros per litre, becoming the most expensive in Europe.
