Fuel: here’s how much the cut in excise duty on diesel and petrol could be worth
The estimates compiled by Codacons and the situation at petrol stations monitored by Staffetta Quotidiana
A full tank of diesel now costs 15 euros more than at the start of July. This is according to Codacons, which has released figures on the impact of the government’s proposed excise duty cuts on household budgets. Since 3 July, when the latest excise duty cut expired, the average price of diesel has risen by 30.3 euro cents at ordinary petrol stations, a surge of +16 per cent, and by 28.7 euro cents on motorways, whilst petrol has risen by 17.9 euro cents.
These increases mean that a full tank of diesel now costs 15.15 euros more than on 3 July (+14.35 euros on the motorway), whilst a full tank of petrol costs 8.95 euros more – according to Codacons’ calculations. The association also says it is in favour of a differentiated cut in excise duties between diesel and petrol, a measure that is expected to be approved at today’s Cabinet meeting. The figures show that diesel prices have risen significantly more than petrol, penalising owners of diesel-powered cars – explains Codacons.
Discount scenarios
According to our calculations, a possible cut in excise duty of 8 euro cents per litre, taking VAT into account, would result in a saving of just 4.88 euros on a full tank and, given current prices at the pump, would bring the cost of diesel down to 2.087 euros per litre at standard service stations. If the reduction were 10 cents, the saving on a full tank would rise to 6.1 euros (with the price of diesel falling to 2.063 euros per litre), whilst in the event of a 15-cent excise duty cut – again, taking VAT into account – the saving would rise to €9.15 per full tank (with the average price of diesel standing at €2.002 per litre). Finally, if the government were to opt for a 24-cent reduction, as has been reported in recent hours, a full tank would cost €14.64 less, with the average price of diesel falling to €1.892 per litre, provided, of course, that the reduction is passed on in full to the price at the pump – concludes Codacons.
As well as being the most expensive, diesel is also the most widely used fuel. As reported in recent days, on an average day in Italia just under 110 million litres are consumed, and with 76.8 million litres, diesel accounts for around 70 per cent of purchases. At this rate, the price rises seen so far in July amount to an additional cost at the pump of around 28.4 million per day, or 880 million per month. A somewhat positive note may come from August’s consumption figures, which – despite the multicoloured stickers used to gauge traffic intensity on holiday routes – are on average lower than in other months due to the summer break in manufacturing and restrictions on lorry traffic. The cost of the Middle East crisis to motorists’ wallets is expected to be around 800 million next month, compared with prices at the start of July.
The Government will try to keep prices below the symbolic threshold of two euros per litre.
