A 20-day cut in fuel excise taxes. This is the main measure approved by the Council of Ministers to combat the high cost of gasoline. The measure, which will benefit everyone, "absorbs" the strengthening of the social card, which would have otherwise only affected low-income earners. It would also include aid for road haulage and fishing, and a strengthening of Mr. Prices' powers.
Confirmation comes from Transport Minister Matteo Salvini: "A few minutes ago, the Council of Ministers approved the fuel decree, which provides for a substantial cut in excise duties that will translate into a reduction in the price of diesel and gasoline."
This, he explained, is "substantial aid, obviously limited in time. From the next few hours, Italians will pay less than Germans, French, and Spanish," he emphasized.
Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni also spoke shortly afterward: "We intervened in the Council of Ministers today with a decree that clearly concerns fuel prices, the priority right now. We intervened with three measures. We are essentially cutting fuel prices by 25 cents per liter, introducing a tax credit for truck drivers because we don't want the price increase to be passed on to consumer goods, and creating an anti-speculation mechanism that effectively ties fuel prices to the actual price of oil, introducing penalties for those who deviate. So we are combating speculation and immediately lowering prices."
Codacons's reaction: "20 days isn't enough."
"The 25 euro cent cut in excise duty, including VAT, translates into a drop in pump prices of -0.305 euros per liter, a saving of 15.2 euros on a 50-liter tank," Codacons announced.
"Considering the current average price of diesel, €2.103 per liter, with the reduction in excise duties, diesel would drop to €1.798 per liter, close to pre-conflict levels," the association calculates.
Regarding the duration of the excise duty cut, "which should last only 20 days, Codacons deems it completely insufficient: at the end of the discount period, fuel prices at the pump will skyrocket, and even if oil prices were to fall by the time the measure expires, pump prices will fall at a snail's pace, as Italians know well every time petrol and diesel prices rise due to oil."
(Unioneonline)