The government is specifying its avenues to support households in the face of rising fuel prices, and a general reduction in taxes does not seem to hold the line.
Asked this Monday on Europe 1, the Minister of the Economy said he was "
more favorable
" to the creation of a fuel check, rather than a reduction in taxation.
To read also Gasoline: the track of the fuel check
On a liter of diesel costing 1.55 euros, VAT and TICPE weigh 60% of the price, or almost 90 cents, detailed Bruno Le Maire.
But a reduction in these taxes "
is not the right option, first of all because it is very expensive
": a reduction of one cent costs the State 500 million euros.
In addition, the generalized decrease is, paradoxically, “
unfair
”, because it gives the same compensation to the person with a “
large motorized 4x4
” and “
the nurse who takes his Clio
” to visit his patients.
The boss of Bercy also ruled that a drop would be equivalent to a "
subsidy to fossil fuels
": it is therefore "
not reasonable, economically and environmentally unwise.
".
If this option is validated, a fuel check should arrive "
as quickly as possible to the French
" who need it, underlined Bruno Le Maire, specifying however that the work to define the framework of the aid was not yet finished. . The minister also vehemently denied the accusation that the executive "
is making money on the backs of the French
" thanks to fuel taxes. "
In 2022, if prices remain at the [indicated] level, we could receive 2.5 billion euros in additional VAT
." However, the additional energy check, announced recently, will cost "
600 million
" to the State, and the price cap for electricity and gas will weigh "
5 billion euros.
".
The State does not "
earn money in times of energy crisis
", concluded the minister: it loses some.
A schedule to be specified
Earlier this Monday, several members of the government had also specified that the track of a fuel check was privileged at this stage.
Invited on Cnews, the Deputy Minister in charge of Transport, Jean-Baptiste Djebbari, specified that the executive intended to target as a priority "
the most fragile households and the largest consumers of fuel
".
He too has ruled out blocking taxes, because that would then be "
depriving oneself of fiscal resources to finance public services
".
On France 2, Barbara Pompili also declared that "
the track is more the fuel check, in what form I do not know yet, because we are trying to find a way to reach the right people
". The aid should reach as a priority "
people obliged to refuel
", but this measure will be difficult to put in place: "
We do not have today, as we have for the energy check, a base of data from all those who may need it,
”noted the Minister responsible for the Ecological Transition. The announcements could be made "as
soon as possible,
" perhaps this week, she noted.
In the wake of inflation affecting gas and electricity bills, forcing the government to react, the price of fuel has again become, in recent weeks, a hot political issue.
Ten days ago, the average selling price of a liter of SP98 and SP95 was over 1.6 euros, and a liter of diesel cost 1.54 euros.
Sums higher than the levels observed in November 2018, at the time of the “
yellow vests
” crisis
.
The executive is watching this matter closely, promising to act quickly with short-term measures.