All the fault of the excise duties. The reinstatement of fuel taxes is creating some fibrillation in the government: since January, motorists have seen the price of diesel and petrol rise by 18.3 cents per litre, i.e. the equivalent of the discount on excise duties foreseen by decree until last December 31st. The return to normality has resulted in pump prices that fluctuate, sometimes exceeding 2 euros per litre, enough to fuel the foreseeable protest of consumers and the opposition against the Meloni executive, who finds himself holding the match left in inherited from the Draghi government. What distorted the price of fuel for more than nine months was the choice, adopted in the aftermath of the outbreak of war in Ukraine, to cool fuel prices by cutting excise duties by 25 cents (plus VAT). A measure renewed by former Prime Minister Draghi for the whole of 2022, with the awareness that, once it expired, it would be the government that would pay the price in terms of consensus. A very clear scenario for the current premier Meloni, who, however, has chosen to concentrate the 21 billion euros of the Energy package, envisaged in the Budget law, on measures that do not contemplate the continuation of subsidies on the excise duty front on petrol and diesel by car transport. The reasons are simple, though indigestible to motorists. The first is purely accounting: the Draghi government has financed the discount on excise duties also thanks to the extra revenue ensured precisely by increases in the price of fuel.
The roofing knot
A hedging mechanism that no longer applies given that last September, with the update note to the Def, it was decided to consider the extra revenue not so much a higher collection as an ordinary collection, therefore it cannot be used to finance the discounts. The second reason derives from the Brussels recommendations: once the emergency is over, the generalized bonuses must be replaced with more selective and targeted measures. A picture that explains the non-renewal of the cut in excise duties and the consequent rise in pump prices. The trouble, points out Assoutenti, is that by doing so Italy has once again placed itself among the most expensive countries in Europe in terms of fuels. Currently our country, with an average of 1.891 euros per litre, occupies the third position in the EU for the highest price of diesel, behind Sweden and Finland, while for petrol (1.827 euros/litre) it is the fourth most expensive market . Before the rise in excise duties, Italy was in twelfth place in Europe for diesel, tenth for petrol.
Italy first for diesel taxation
If taxes alone are considered, Italy occupies the first place for diesel taxation, with 0.958 euros of taxes on every liter of diesel. Compared to the European average, Italians pay 24.8 eurocents more for a liter of petrol, a differential which in the case of diesel translates into 24.2 eurocents. Particularly, the increase in diesel – which before the crisis with Russia was cheaper than petrol and which now, according to Codacons, could rise to 2.5 euros per liter on the motorway – to raise the major concerns. According to the association, on the motorway, in served mode, petrol has come to cost 2.392 euros per liter on the A1 Rome-Milan, and diesel 2.479 euros.
The double embargo on Russia
The double European embargo imposed on Russian oil also drove up prices: the one on crude oil imported by ship taken on December 5th and the upcoming one on Russian refined products which will take effect from February 5th. According to Unem data (what was once the Petroleum Union), Europe imports a total of about 80 million tons of diesel, 25 of which from Russia. On the European markets, therefore, about 30% of the product will be missing. Volumes that will not be easy to replace. Furthermore, the production costs of the refineries that processed Russian crude oil increased and they had to adapt their refining to other types of crude oil. But not only. Again according to the Unem there may be tensions on prices also due to fears of a drop in supply due to the shutdown of some European refineries, such as, for example, in France due to the strikes of workers in the sector. A phenomenon to which is added, on the other hand, a rush to purchase the supplies necessary to face the winter in anticipation of the use of diesel for industrial uses (in the event of interruption or rationing in gas supplies).
