The Italian Council of Ministers has approved a new fuel decree law that extends by one week, until Thursday 17 September, the 17-cent discount on the price of diesel fuel.
The 14-cent-per-litre reduction in tax translates into a lower pump price of around 17 cents per litre, taking into account the reduced impact of VAT.
The new decree law will cost around 80 million euros. According to government sources, this is expected to be the last across-the-board measure, in other words one that benefits all consumers.
If the government intervenes again on fuel after 17 September, it will do so with a package of “targeted” measures, designed to support low-income groups and those who need fuel for work.
According to Corriere della Sera, from March to today the government has spent around 2.6 billion euros on repeated cuts to excise duties and on support for road haulage (a tax credit for fuel purchases).
Within the governing majority, the League would like to fund upcoming measures with a tax on the windfall profits of oil companies, while Forza Italia is opposed.