The government does not rule out lowering taxes on fuels within the range of fiscal shock measures in which it works to curb the impact of rising energy on business and social groups most affected by its rising cost of war. in Ukraine. “We will study a package of measures, some will go down to review the taxation of some sectors or products that are clearly impacted by rising inflation […] With this, I am making a lot of progress with regard to the attitude of the Government “, said the Minister of Finance. Maria Jesus Monterothis Monday, before the presentation of the book ‘Pioneers, one hundred years of the presence of women in the Court of Auditors 1921-2021’.
Although the minister did not want to go into detail about what kind of taxes are intended to be reviewed, she did say that the taxation of the products most affected by rising inflation, such as fuels, will be assessed. for VAT and excise duties. Not in vain, one of the main agreements between the Government and the autonomies emanating from the Conference of Presidents of La Palma this weekend includes the adoption of “tax cuts to cushion the impact of energy prices on the bills they pay families and businesses ”. “We must be careful not to anticipate any measures until it is in dialogue and consensus” with social actors and political groups, stressed Montero.
In addition, the final design of the shock measures will depend on the scope of the agreements finally reached by the heads of government at the European Council on 24 and 25 March on the regulation of the gas market and the market price system. electric. On the possibility of raising taxes on the profits obtained by electricity as a result of rising prices – as proposed in Madrid by OECD Secretary-General Mathias Cormann – Montero stressed that the government has already “encountered »These gains and has taken action in this regard. “There are different ways to approach these benefits, either through taxation or through regulation, which is the way this government has chosen,” he said.
The different taxes
About half of the price of fuel is taxed. Gasolines and diesels support up to four different taxes. In addition to VAT (21%) and taxes specials (a fixed amount per liter, depending on the type of fuel), there is thestate retail sales tax (2.4 cents per liter of fuel) and the tax on retail sales of certain hydrocarbons in the autonomous communities, the famous health penny.
Minister Montero refused to specify whether the government is open to lowering the VAT on fuels from 21% to 10%. Applying the reduced rate of VAT (10%) to fuels is not allowed for European directives and it would only be possible to do so if the European Commission agrees to change this rule as an exceptional measure to address the current difficulties in the energy market. However, countries like Poland they have unilaterally decided to cut VAT above what is allowed by Europe as measures to curb the effects of inflation. Even before the outbreak of the war, a reduction in the VAT on fuel from 23 to 8% came into force in Poland on 1 February, and the VAT on gas was eliminated by 8 to 0%; the Polish government also eliminated VAT on basic foods and fertilizers. It is difficult to anticipate whether the precedent of Poland, a country that bears much of the humanitarian and energy crisis of the war in Ukraine, could be adopted by other EU countries in the current context.