The Government is vigilant on the cost of fuel.
The Minister of Enterprise and Made in Italy Adolfo Urso has announced a double action to stop speculation and that next week he will bring together consumer associations to discuss the most suitable instruments.
«The first responsible for what is happening is the Government itself which has decided to increase taxes for Italians, first by raising excise duties by 10 cents starting from 1 December and then not renewing the remaining 15 cent discount from 1 January » , however, is the attack by Massimiliano Dona, president of the National Consumer Union . «A sting, only the latter, equal to 9 euros and 15 cents for a full 50 liters. As for speculation - he continues - we have been waiting for answers since March last year, both with respect to our complaint to the Rome Public Prosecutor's Office, which had opened an investigation file on March 14, 2022, and with respect to the 3 complaints sent to the Antitrust l 'March 11, 2022, March 24, 2022 and April 8, 2022. The Guardia di Finanza then ended up fining some distributors guilty of having communicated incorrect data to the ministry or displaying incorrect prices. In short, if the Government really wants to wage a battle against speculation, next week it will accept the request that we have been making for years on the occasion of the annual law on competition , i.e. to give more powers to the institutions responsible for controls, for example by giving a definition of anomalous price, considering unfair practice that of those who, taking advantage of events such as transport strikes, bad weather, pandemic, war in Ukraine, practice excessive top-ups, unduly influencing consumers".
THE INVESTIGATIONS – «Someone is playing smart» , said the Minister of Transport and Infrastructure Matteo Salvini in no uncertain terms, while the Rome Public Prosecutor's Office announces an investigation. The Mef has already moved and since December has given a mandate to the Guardia di Finanza to verify the progress at the pump after the definitive stop of the cut in excise duties triggered on January 1st under the maneuver.
At current rates, the collection of excise duties could exceed 40 billion, 23.8 billion collected in 2021 alone . The alarm comes from many categories: Coldiretti, for example, points out that the price increases make their weight felt on 88% of the goods. And even the taxis are alarmed: so we are on our knees, says UilTrasporti.
The operators defend themselves: "There is no speculation - says Bruno Bearzi, national president of the Figisc-Concommercio which represents the 22,000 Italian plants together with Confesercenti - The increase depends on the decision to cancel the discount. It is not with 4 cents that speculate."
Net of the increase in excise duties decided by the Government, the increase in prices does not seem to respond to the trend in oil prices : in two months Brent has suffered a depreciation of -25.5%. Similar situation for the WTI, which lost 15%. In the face of this collapse in prices, and net of the rise in excise duties, the prices of petrol and diesel are rising at an excessive speed.
The hated excise duties, those that raise the price of the full tank or the cost of a bottle of wine, have always been the most hated by Italians who wonder why they should contribute again to the war in Abyssinia. In fact, the first increase in excise duties dates back to 1935. Continuous adjustments followed, up to five consecutive ones in 2011 and later and the famous discount.
(Unioneonline/D)