From 1 July, the excise duties on fuel will be increased again, making the price at the pump more expensive. Motorists will pay 13.8 cents more for a liter of petrol, taking the price above €2 a litre. “The excise tax cut has buoyed purchasing power a bit, but ultimately it hasn’t helped the income groups that need it most,” says consumer economist Marten van Garderen of ING.
That is why he understands the decision to lift the reduction in excise duties. The benefit of a reduction in fuel excise duty lies primarily with people who drive a lot of miles, and these are often not the ones with the lowest incomes, says Van Garderen. He therefore finds it “economically” logical that all this should end.
‘Money can also be spent on other useful things’
‘The reduction in excise duties is not suitable for protecting the lowest incomes and supporting purchasing power. It also involves a lot of extra money, which results in a higher national debt, while this money can also be spent on other useful things.’
‘When we introduced this measure last year, the estimated cost was around €1 billion over 9 months, which is around €1.5 billion in total. This is really a lot of money for such a measure.’
From an economic point of view, throwing money around can fuel inflation, he says. ‘From this point of view it is better to take specific measures. The rollback doesn’t necessarily mean bad news for the economy, because even simply pumping money into the economy can have an inflationary effect. At the moment we are not expecting that, although obviously the inflation rate is moving in the right direction.’
Busy times
Due to expected price increases, gas stations are expecting large crowds today. “We already noticed this yesterday and the day before yesterday,” says Energy and Gas Stations Association (BETA) president Ewout Klok. He hasn’t seen people with jerry cans in the back seat yet. “We also maintain some control over this. It shouldn’t happen that people take to the streets with a back seat full of petrol.’
“We are a country of transport”
Although van Garderen thinks it’s good to go back to “normal”, Klok thinks it’s idiotic “that you will soon cross the border and face price differences after a few kilometers”.
Furthermore, according to him, a large group suffers. ‘We’re talking about the vast majority: fuel-dependent SMEs. We’ve helped them with that, because if petrol gets more expensive, taking a head of lettuce or a Mars bar to the store will also get more expensive because that will be charged.’
Source: BNR
Andrew Dwight is an author and economy journalist who writes for 24 News Globe. He has a deep understanding of financial markets and a passion for analyzing economic trends and news. With a talent for breaking down complex economic concepts into easily understandable terms, Andrew has become a respected voice in the field of economics journalism.
