By Laurent P. Posted on October 21, 2021 at 11:26 a.m.
Faced with soaring fuel prices, impacting all motorists, the government said Tuesday, October 19, 2021 that a “fair and efficient” device should be announced by the end of the week. Fuel check for the most modest, lower taxes … We take stock!
Will it be a fuel check ? Of a lower taxes ? The government announced Tuesday, October 19, 2021 that a device “fair and efficient“making it possible to compensate for the increase in fuel price was going to be announced “by the end of the week“. According to information from our colleagues from Franceinfo, it would even seem that these announcements are made this Thursday, October 21, the Prime Minister Jean Castex, to speak to the French on the issue, after a lunch with the Head of State which was held on Wednesday, October 20.
Two avenues – namely a fuel check for the most modest households and certain professionals, or a reduction in fuel taxes – which the government has looked into, which is still hesitant about the decision to be taken. “It’s not about inventing a gas plant, it has to be simple“, explained Wednesday, October 20 Gabriel Attal, the government spokesperson, at the end of the Council of Ministers.
What are the advantages of both? Concerning fuel check, this would make it possible to better target the users who need it the most and to save money. In any case, this was explained by the Minister of the Economy on Monday, October 18, Bruno the Mayor, which indicated to prefer one each fuel, on the model of the energy check, the reduction of the taxes resulting in consequent expenses on an economy already fragile because of the crisis. And to continue by explaining that a drop of a cent is “half a billion euros“less in the state coffers.
On the other hand, a device that is quite complex to set up and apply, this one requiring to define a resource cap and subsequently identify the beneficiaries. The government does not have “a database of people who need their cars to go to work“, thus indicated, for its part, Barbara pompili, Minister of Ecological Transition. Another problem associated with this type of device: avoid “that some, for threshold issues, feel excluded“a few months before the presidential elections, in particular”the upper middle classes“, explains a government source to our colleagues from Franceinfo. And to continue: “We don’t want, after the ‘yellow vests’, to have a white-collar demonstration“.
About the lower taxes on fuel, this is particularly popular in the public opinion, but costs the State too much. “Passing the VAT from 20% to 5.5% on gas, electricity and fuels, as some candidates propose, would cost 13 billion euros in a full year, including 10 billion euros only on gasoline“, thus indicates the Ministry of the Economy. TICPE (internal consumption tax on energy products), which represent “the fourth state tax revenue behind VAT, income tax and corporate tax“, specify our colleagues from Franceinfo. It is therefore difficult to do without it, especially in times of crisis when the economy remains fragile. A device that also does not allow “specifically target the most modest audiences“, according to a government source.
A complex decision, therefore, and announcements which should arrive very quickly.