The decision of realign the Excise su petrol and diesel, as approved by the Senate Finance Committee, has raised a heated political and social debate. The favorable opinion is to "define a potential rapprochement" of the excise duty rates applied to diesel and petrol in order to take into account the environmental and economic impact of each product, "allocating resources to local public transport", as stated in the text of the opinion. A decision that has raised not a few controversies among opposition parties and consumer associations: inevitably, in fact, prices will increase. The opinion that the Senate approved specifies that "the aforementioned measures must be implemented, having assessed the reference context, with a specific interministerial decree". The increase will occur over a suitable period of time", and "in the amount of between 1 and 2 euro cents", with the resulting resources that will be allocated to the financing of Tpl, local public transport.
The possible additional expense for motorists
currently the Excise weigh for 0,728 euro on each litre of petrol, and for 0,617 euro on diesel. According to the evaluations of the Codacons, a possible increase in taxation on diesel equal to 1 cent of a euro would result in a "blow" of 245 million euros for motorists who own diesel vehicles. "In our country, 41,5% of the cars available to families are diesel-powered", explains Codacons, "and this means that even a small increase of excise duties, to which VAT is also applied, effectively determines a blow to the plurality of Italians who travel every day in a diesel car". More specifically "they are 16,7 million diesel cars circulating in Italy in 2024, and an increase in excise duties of 1 euro cent for diesel fuel is equivalent to a greater expenditure from + 0,61 euro on a full tank 50 liters, if we also take into account the VAT applied to excise duties. In one year, the overall increase in expenditure for owners of diesel cars would be equal to +245 million euros, +490 million euros in the event of an increase in excise duties on diesel equal to 2 euro cents”, according to the association's calculation. “In the usual sly way, the government, after having denied for weeks that it wanted to do so, is increasing excise duties on diesel”, states the President of the Democratic Party Senators Francesco Boccia: "We are faced with a government that first shouts that it will not increase taxes and then, desperate, to gather resources does not hesitate to increase them for motorists and businesses."
“Excise duties on diesel fuel are also increasing”
In a note, M5S Senator Marco Croatti states: "In the face of the latest energy blows, one in three families in Italy is unable to pay their bills, as revealed by a study released today by Accenture. It is not satisfied with the sacrifices that Italians are making, today in the Finance Committee of the Senate the center-right majority gave the green light to an opinion on the legislative decree that must review the provisions on excise duties on fuel. With the alibi of the petrol-diesel realignment, in fact those on diesel are increasing“. “A blow for Italian motorists and for the road haulage sector,” Croatti continues. “Giorgia Meloni, who in 2022 elevated herself to the vestal of the abolition of excise duties on fuel, today returns as 'miss bloodletting'. For weapons she finds money in every nook and cranny of the state budget, while to mitigate the cost of fuel she thinks that signs displayed at the pump are enough. To complete the farce, against the high bills she sends Fratin to tell us that the solution is nuclear. But in twenty years. Pay, pay, pay: the leitmotif of Meloni's Italy is this,” Marco Croatti comments.