No longer a discount applied without distinction to petrol and diesel, but a more targeted economic support system, aimed at the categories most exposed to high fuel prices. This is the objective of the Meloni government, which is preparing the energy decree as the deadline of the last extension to the general cut in excise duties on fuel approaches, scheduled for midnight on Thursday 17 September. Time is running out.
The continuous extensions of the excise duty cuts have so far resulted in an overall cost of more than 2.6 billion euros. In these hours the majority shares the need to intervene quickly and to shelve a measure which, especially in the case of diesel, ends up favoring taxpayers who have a greater spending capacity. However, both the beneficiaries and the mechanism through which the economic aid will be provided remain to be defined.
A limited intervention
Italian motorists have long been subject to a particularly high tax burden on petrol and diesel and, between VAT and excise duties, they incur an outlay higher than the European average. For this reason, continuing to extend the excise duty reduction is no longer a sufficient response to the current emergency. Which is why we would like to intervene in a more limited way. But there is little to go around: the government’s choice will above all be influenced by the availability of resources.
The hypothesis of a bonus of up to 200 euros
Among the possible solutions examined is the return of a fuel bonus through fringe benefits, on the model of what was experienced in 2022 during the government led by Mario Draghi. In that circumstance, private companies were able to provide employees with vouchers that could be used to purchase fuel, with an advantage linked to the preferential tax treatment. A new version could provide a benefit of up to 200 euros, again via companies.
This mechanism, however, has an aspect that raises some caution in the business world: the employer should initially bear the cost, then recovering the sum through the tax system. Furthermore, it is not yet established whether companies would be given full power to grant the contribution, or whether the recognition would become mandatory in some way. Even the final figure has not been set and could be modified during the process of the measure.
Pensioners, VAT numbers, public transport
The discussion in the majority concerns above all the breadth of the audience of beneficiaries. The League is pushing to also include VAT numbers who frequently use cars to work, such as sales agents and other categories particularly sensitive to fluctuations in fuel prices. Forza Italia, on the other hand, draws attention to pensioners, considering the role that many of them play in the daily management of families, especially with the resumption of school activities and the travel of grandchildren.
For professionals, artisans, agents and small entrepreneurs, however, it would not be possible to re-propose the fringe benefit mechanism without modifications. For these categories, action could be taken on the fiscal side, introducing a deduction or an additional deduction for fuel costs. In this scenario, the support would not appear directly in the pay slip, but would be recovered during the tax return, within the thresholds and conditions established by the legislation. However, it would be essential to establish which supplies can be considered effectively linked to professional activity, distinguishing them from travel for personal needs. The topic concerns a significant group of workers for whom petrol and diesel represent a recurring expense item closely linked to carrying out the activity.
Another shared priority concerns road transport, to prevent the increase in costs incurred by hauliers from being passed on to the final prices of the products. The possibility of intervening on local public transport is also being evaluated, for example through reductions in the cost of tickets. A measure of this type would have a dual purpose: to lighten the expenditure of the most economically fragile groups and to encourage, where possible, the use of public transport instead of private cars.
The ISEE of families and the maximum aid of 100 euros
Another hypothesis under study would be to concentrate resources directly on families with lower incomes. Among the proposals being circulated is the creation, in 2026, of a fund of one billion euros for families with an ISEE of up to 20 thousand euros, who could be granted a fuel voucher worth a maximum of 100 euros. In this case too, this is a hypothesis and not an already approved measure. However, its functioning would be very different from that of the fringe benefit: access would not depend on the relationship with the employer, but on the economic situation of the family unit.
The choice of the audience will therefore be decisive. A criterion based only on the ISEE could in fact exclude a part of the middle class who, although not falling within the economically weakest groups, incur high costs every day to reach the workplace. The system entrusted to companies would instead be simpler for employees, but would not solve the problem of self-employed workers and professionals.
And the money?
The necessary resources must be found to finance the final measure. Interventions on fuels cannot be financed using European flexibility, which does not allow those margins to be used for expenses related to fossil fuels. Even the possible use of resources linked to energy efficiency would require discussion with Brussels, with times incompatible with immediate intervention. The continuous extensions of the excise duty cut have so far resulted in an overall cost of more than 2.6 billion euros, only partially covered by the increase in VAT revenue produced by the same increases in fuel prices. For the remainder, other forms of financing were used, including spending cuts and advances relating to taxes on dividends from large energy groups.
The League would like to identify new resources in extra profits, involving both energy companies and the banking sector. Forza Italia, however, does not support this approach, unless a shared agreement can be reached through discussion with the interested parties. The fact is that the point of balance in the government will have to be found in a short time: the majority’s objective is to arrive at a solution before the end of the extension (Thursday 17 September), replacing the generalized discount at the pump with more selective aid calibrated to the economic condition or actual needs of those who use the fuel.