There are just a few hours left until September 10th, the expiry date of the last “mini cut” in excise duties on diesel. And then, what happens? The answer to this question is in the dossier the Meloni government is working on. The answer, by pure mathematics, must arrive between today and tomorrow. Without measures, fuel prices will continue to rise, but a new discount “for all” has been repeatedly excluded by the executive. Now the hypothesis of discounted petrol bonuses is making its way.
What happens to diesel and petrol prices after September 10th
The fact is clear: the excise duty cut of 17 cents per liter on diesel, in force since the beginning of August, expires on Thursday 10 September. The government has been talking for days about “selective interventions” against high fuel prices. Translated: the executive, as Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni repeated at the Bari event last week, is working on supports aimed at specific categories of consumers. The League asked for interventions on specific categories of workers and not to use the ISEE alone for the purposes of assigning contributions.
However, it is not excluded that we proceed in two phases: another extension of the current discount, possibly for the remaining days of September, and then the specific measures. The unknown resources weigh on the real scope of the intervention. Among the hypotheses under consideration would be that of tax discounts to be applied to employers who provide petrol vouchers to employees. The main mechanism would be based on the inclusion of fuel vouchers within fringe benefits and company welfare.
The numbers
According to the weekly update of the Fuel Observatory of the Ministry of the Environment and Energy Security, from 31 August to 6 September petrol reached an average of 2.034 euros per litre, up 18 thousandths compared to the previous week (+0.89%). Diesel fuel instead stood at 2.142 euros per litre, with an increase of 18.4 thousandths (+0.86%). LPG is substantially stable, at 0.77 euros per litre.
The National Consumers Union denounces the singular situation in Bolzano. “Without the discount on excise duties, considering today’s price (8 September), diesel would arrive on the motorway at 2.411 euros per litre, on normal roads it would rise to 2.340 euros per litre. The record would be in Bolzano with 2.385 euros, in second place Calabria ex aequo with Sicily where it would be sold at 2.364 euros. Friuli Venezia Giulia follows with 2.358 euros”. For President Massimiliano Dona “it is not enough to lower excise duties for the usual four categories: hauliers, farmers, taxi drivers and fishermen. Not everyone who transports goods can take advantage of the hauliers’ tax breaks. Even helping only those with a low ISEE or the fuel bonus for commuters, however fair, does not serve the slightest bit to slow down the surge in prices”.