Italians have always had a conflicting relationship with petrol prices. In recent years, prohibitive figures have been reached.
In Italy, excise duties on petrol are a much debated topic. In fact, there are three factors that affect the cost of fuel: industry cost which includes the cost of production, distribution and profit of the company. Excise duties: since 1995 there has been an escalation of increases dictated by various events. Another element is VAT: a tax applied to a tax. VAT and excise duties represent just over half of the final price of petrol (58.2%) and diesel (51.1%).
The list of excise duties is quite long. It starts with financing for the Ethiopian war of 1935-1936. Financing of the 1956 Suez crisis. Reconstruction after the 1963 Vajont disaster. Reconstruction after the 1966 Florence flood. For reconstruction after the 1968 Belice earthquake. Reconstruction after the 1976 Friuli earthquake.
Reconstruction after the 1980 Irpinia earthquake. Financing of the mission in Bosnia in 1996. Renewal of the contract for the autoferrotranvieri in 2004. Purchase of ecological buses in 2005. To deal with the 2009 L’Aquila earthquake.
Financing for culture in 2011. To manage the arrival of immigrants after the Libyan crisis of 2011. To deal with the flood that hit Liguria and Tuscany in 2011. Reconstruction after the earthquake in Emilia in 2012. Furthermore, the Salva decree Italy in 2011 had its impact.
Petrol, the alarm goes off
Federpetroli President, Michele Marsiglia, announced that the price of fuel could skyrocket. In the event of a war conflict it could reach 3 euros per liter in our latitudes. In fact, if Iran were to go to war and close the Persian Gulf, the consequences for Italian motorists would be disastrous. The prediction was made in the Agora broadcaston RAI 3, on 16 April 2024.
The problem in Italy has always been linked to excise duties. When there are famines, destruction or wars, the price of fuel rose, but then it stabilized and never fell again. Indirect taxes weigh on automotive fuels, such as petrol, diesel and LPG, hitting consumers hard.
In Legislative Decree no. 504 of 26 October 1995, establishes: “Indirect taxation on the production or consumption of energy products, ethyl alcohol and alcoholic beverages, electricity and manufactured tobacco, different from other indirect taxes”.
Italy is one of the European countries with the highest fuel costs. Even the cost of energy is very high. Excise duties on petrol represent 38% of the total cost and VAT 18%.
Excise duties on diesel have a weight of 35% and VAT 18% (the final total is 53%). Excise duties on LPG account for 18% of the final price and VAT also for 18% (the overall percentage is 36%). Impressive data that is bringing the entire system into disarray.
The Covid-19 pandemic has already increased the prices of everything. Furthermore, the blow came with the Russian invasion of Ukraine. There is no talk of eliminating excise duties, but with the outbreak of a new war, prices could explode completely.
With a prohibitive figure of 3 euros per litre, only the rich could afford to avoid having any problems driving around. At this rate, Italy will be increasingly divided.
