Another country has reduced its fuel tax, and Hungary is waiting in vices
Poland has reduced VAT on fuels from 23 to 8 percent, as evidenced by the average price of PLN 5.23 for petrol and PLN 5.28 for diesel, down 11 percent from a week ago. It is 411 and 415 forints, currently Poland has to pay the least for fuel.
Not only has Poland decided to reduce the public burden of fuels, Slovenia is following a similar path, but they have reduced excise duty to the EU minimum, not VAT. (this is € 0.359 per liter of petrol and € 0.33 on diesel).
In Slovenia, this was the smallest sight, with the price of diesel down by € 1.42 at a retail price of 3.1, and the difference between the minimum and the current tax rate for petrol was so small that it could only curb the rise in prices. Gasoline cost 1.38 euros, 0.63 different from a week earlier.
Elsewhere, prices are creeping up
In the last week, fuel prices have risen in almost every EU country, and if Poland, Slovenia and Hungary – where the state has intervened in prices – are not included, on average 1 is indeed the case. The largest increase was in Romania, with petrol 3.1 and diesel around 2.7 more this week than the previous one.
In Hungary, according to Holtankoljak, the wholesale price of fuels did not increase this week, which is a bit reassuring for the wells, although several units have already been forced to close because they could not gasify at a further loss.
What about the closing wells?
Closing wells can be taken over by law by a competitor, which is likely to be a large chain like Mol. The company therefore a Forbeshas stated that no filling station has been taken over so far and that no request has been received from ITM. This is in line with the announcement of the portfolio.
The situation of Hungarians is aggravated by the fact that, according to the New Word in Bratislava, more and more people from Slovakia are refueling to Poland and Hungary, also risking smuggling. According to the rule, a maximum of 10 liters of fuel in the tank can be transported across the border, but it arrives equipped with many Slovak trailers and barrels.
This means a slight loss of VAT revenue in Poland, but it is a disaster for Hungarian entrepreneurs, as it only increases their deficit.
This also shows how well-thought-out the tool of price maximization was on the part of the Hungarian government.
By the way, the Croatians used this once again at the end of last year and now, but they only slightly stopped the increase in prices, without endangering the operation of the wells. Last year the official price was 11 and 11.1 kunas, and now the price of 95 was set at 11.37 kunas and the diesel at 11.29 kunas. The current regulation is for 2 months.
At home, gas stations are waiting for Feb. 15, by which time the government will have to decide whether to extend it at the official price or not, or perhaps fix it at a different level. The additional level of 480 forints is guaranteed to lead to well closures, as the price of Brent oil is over $ 90 and the loser can’t stand a small contractor for a long time. The chances are that the market and prices will not be high again, as this means that motorists would have to expect a 30-50 forint increase in prices before the elections.
Hungarians in favor of tax cuts
According to a survey commissioned by Pulzus Ku, 63 percent of Hungarians would use the tax cut instead of the government, and only 26 percent would continue the price halt in the current situation.