In a barrage of interventions and proposals to address the surge in energy prices, yesterday the left-wing opposition moved forward, with the obvious argument that small and medium households and businesses will not withstand the prices of heating oil and diesel.Setting the tone early yesterday morning was Alexis Tsipras with a video he posted on social media, presenting four tools to deal with the issue and challenging the government to choose some of them or a combination of them.
Accusing the prime minister, in fact, of having “lied” that the EU does not give him the flexibility to reduce the Excise Duty, he presented the four tools for a more drastic reduction in pump prices.
- Imposition of a profit margin cap on refineries as well, not only on gas stations.
- Extraordinary taxation of the excess profits of refineries, which in the past six months exceeded 1.5 billion.
- Reduction of the Excise Duty by half, that is, to the minimum permissible limit provided for by the EU.
- Reduction of VAT on fuels to 13%, as Spain did.
“Let him choose which of all the tools, or which combination of them, he will impose. In any case, the price of heating oil is not justified in exceeding 1.4 euros per liter and diesel 1.8 euros per liter.”
Specifying Mr. Tsipras’s intervention, ELAS officials presented data from other countries of the EU to demonstrate the more unfavorable position of Greek citizens.
“Greece is at the bottom of the Eurozone in purchasing power, that is, it is not comparable with other member states. The government talks about imported inflation, at a time when a number of countries (Portugal, Italy, Latvia, Belgium, Austria, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Ireland, Romania, Spain, Poland, Estonia, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Croatia, Hungary, Slovenia, Cyprus, Bulgaria, Sweden, Malta) have a cheaper price both in unleaded gasoline and in oil than us, even though there is also a crisis in the Middle East for them. The crisis is not only for us,” the party’s spokesperson Theoni Koufonikolakou characteristically stressed in her interventions.
“Hungary reduced the excise duty on unleaded, diesel and heating oil as early as 13/3. 26, Italy did the same from March 26, Portugal. Croatia in March reduced it and at the same time imposed a retail cap, Poland a lower VAT rate. Cyprus reduced excise duty, Ireland reduced it,” she added.
PASOK: Questions about Tsipras’s proposal
PASOK referred to the barrage of measures proposed by Nikos Androulakis at the Thessaloniki International Fair, while its officials pointedly noted that Mr. Tsipras had made no reference to a reduction of the Excise Duty when he presented his program in Thessaloniki.
“We have said that the Excise Duty should be reduced temporarily, VAT as well, and we are talking about taxation of windfall excess profits,” said the party’s spokesperson Kostas Tsoukalas.
He himself, in fact, left clear hints that Mr. Tsipras’s proposal for a maximum price on heating oil is not costed: “A maximum price on heating oil without taking into account how prices are formed on the market has a fiscal cost that must be explained”, he observed.
In combination, as he pointed out, with the prime minister’s statements, Mr. Tsoukalas concluded that “two parties (i.e. ND, ELAS), which until now did not want taxation of excess profits, did not want a reduction of the Excise Duty, did not want intervention in VAT, now realize that developments are such that they cannot persist in this position.”
As a result, he spoke of a “vindication” of PASOK’s positions because it has highlighted these issues for some time.
SYRIZA: Amendment with examples
SYRIZA, instead of statements, submitted an amendment in Parliament proposing a reduction of the Excise Duty on fuels to the lowest permissible level of the European Union (Directive 96/ 2003) for one year, with the possibility of an extension for one more year.
Analyzing the proposal, it argues that, if implemented, it will bring about the following percentage reductions, compared with the current tax:
- Reduction of the Excise Duty by 92.5% on heating oil: From €280 per 1000 liters, to €21 per 1000 liters, the minimum permissible.
- Reduction of the Excise Duty by 48.7% on unleaded gasoline: From €700 per 1000 liters, to €359 per 1000 liters.
- Reduction of the Excise Duty by 25% on diesel : From €440 per 1000 liters, to €330 per 1000 liters.
- Reduction of the Excise Duty by 38% on leaded gasoline: From €681 per 1000 liters, to €421 per 1000 liters.