Stefano Bonaccini, governor of the Emilia-Romagna region and candidate for the PD secretary after Enrico Letta, declared that gasoline costs more in Italy than in the rest of Europe. In an interview with Lucia Annunziata, host of Rai3’s program “Mais half hour”, Bonaccini criticized the Meloni government for not having renewed the reduction in the excise tax on fuel from January 1, 2023. A decision that, according to him, , made gasoline in Italy the “most expensive in Europe”.
It is true? It’s fake? As per website fact check www.pagellapolitica.it, exponent dem exaggerated. As for the cost of gasoline in Europe, the portal found, based on the most up-to-date data from the European Commission, that “on January 16 in Italy a liter of gasoline cost an average of 1.81 euros, the same price registered in Baixo. In three EU Member States, petrol was more expensive: in France and Greece, at 1.86 euros per litre, and in Finland, at 1.87 euros per litre”. The same goes for diesel: “On January 16th, in Italy, a liter of diesel cost an average of 1.86 euros, the fifth highest price, behind France (1.88 euros), Denmark (1.88 euros), 89 euros), Finland (2.06 euros) and Sweden (2.16 euros)”.
The portal confirms that the item “taxes and excise duties” has a strong impact on final prices: “After the end of the reduction in excise duty on fuel, Italy is once again among the European countries with the highest tax burden on the liter of gasoline and diesel. As of January 16, 58 percent of a liter of gasoline in Italy is taxed, the highest percentage in the EU along with Greece and Finland, with a European average of 50.6 percent. For a liter of diesel, the percentage was 51 percent, the second highest percentage behind Malta’s 54 percent, with a European average of 42.4 percent”.
Therefore, Italy has the fourth highest price in the EU for a liter of gasoline and the fifth highest for a liter of diesel. The weight of taxes on a liter of gasoline in Italy is the highest in the EU and that of a liter of diesel is the second highest.
Source: IL Tempo
Emma Fitzgerald is an accomplished political journalist and author at The Nation View. With a background in political science and international relations, she has a deep understanding of the political landscape and the forces that shape it.
