ROME. Green light from the Council of Ministers to the decree extending the cut in excise duties on fuels to 8 July. The intervention is also extended to methane for which the excise duty goes to zero and VAT is reduced to 5%. In the afternoon the CDM will pass to the Aid DL on which the meeting between the executive and the trade unions took place this morning.
Aid for families and businesses
The Prime Minister, Mario Draghi, at the end of today’s second session of the CDM, the afternoon one that will examine the decree law on aid for businesses and families to cope with the effects of the Ukrainian crisis, will hold a press conference together with the Economy Ministers Daniele Franco , of the ecological transition Roberto Cingolani, and of the work Andrea Orlando. The meeting will take place at the Multifunctional Hall of the Presidency of the Council. «The government has repeated to us that for now the reasoning they make is on an intervention level between 6 and 7 billion, we told them that we consider the figure insufficient. Now is the time for a departure, ”said CGIL leader Maurizio Landini at the end of the meeting at Palazzo Chigi on the aid decree with Mario Draghi. At the table also the general secretaries of CISL and UIL, Luigi Sbarra and Pierpaolo Bombardieri. The government was attended by the Minister of Economy Daniele Franco, of Labor Andrea Orlando and of Economic Development Giancarlo Giorgetti and the Undersecretary of the Prime Minister Roberto Garofoli. The meeting preceded the Council of Ministers which should pass the new aid decree for families and businesses. Double meeting of the CDM today. At 12 the first session for the examination of the provision for the reduction of excise duties on fuels. In the afternoon, however, the order of the day was the decree for aid for businesses and families to cope with the effects of the Ukrainian crisis.
Dl Energia
The cut in excise duties on fuels will be in effect until July 8, 2022. “In consideration of the continuing economic effects deriving from the exceptional increase in the prices of energy products, starting from May 3, 2022 and until July 8, 2022”, we read in the draft of the law decree containing urgent measures in the field of excise duties and VAT on fuels being examined by the Cdm. «In particular – the draft reads – the excise rates of the products indicated below are restated in the following measures: – petrol: 478.40 euros per thousand liters; – oils from gas or diesel used as fuel: 367.40 euros per thousand liters; – liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) used as fuel: € 182.61 per thousand kilograms; – natural gas used for transport: zero euro per cubic meter. The VAT rate applied to natural gas used for transport is set at 5% “.
+ 20% for supplies
But the cut in excise duties on fuels until July 8 is not enough for Codacons. «The official data of the MITE tell us that fuel prices continue to rise at an incessant pace with Italians who, despite the reduction in excise duties, pay 20% more for supplies than last year. The trend of petrol and diesel at the pump appears to be schizophrenic with the price lists rising even in the presence of a drop in oil prices, ”says President Carlo Rienzi. And he adds: “In addition to the cut in excise duties, the government can and must do more, starting with a close fight against speculation, because every cent increase in fuels leads to direct effects on retail prices and a loss of power. purchase to the detriment of families “.
Final squeeze
At least one and a half billion more, with the possibility of still carving out something to the last. Yesterday, May 1 of the government was a day of work to find a way to increase the dowry (which should go from 6 to 7.5 billion at least) of the expected new decree on aid to families and businesses that will be launched by the Council of ministers in a few hours, probably in the early afternoon, and then illustrated by Mario Draghi at a press conference. The final squeeze is a game of joints in which the intervention on the tax wedge is not yet certain, on which the pressure is strong, especially from the Democratic Party. On the table, according to the parties, two hypotheses: a one-off bonus of 200 euros in the next paycheck, or a strengthening of the 0.8% deduction for incomes up to 35 thousand euros, decided for the whole of 2022 in the last maneuver and cost about 1.5 billion.
Solution
The second solution is considered more concrete, since the budget estimated so far is close to one billion. A figure however considered too small by Confindustria and the social partners, as well as by some souls of the varied majority, and the problem was also raised by the Minister for Regional Affairs, Mariastella Gelmini. It is not excluded, it is argued in majority circles, that the intervention on the wedge may be postponed to a later time, when more substantial resources will be available to carry out a structural measure. In fact, the new decree will exceed the 20 billion euros allocated by the government in four months to tackle the energy crisis, which has become more serious with the war in Ukraine. Palazzo Chigi and Mef do not yet foresee a deviation, waiting to understand if the EU will field an Energy Recovery Fund. Meanwhile, the Commission’s new guidelines for the use of the resources of the Recovery Fund for the NRP will soon arrive from Brussels, with useful indications for individual countries to modify and update their respective national plans. Furthermore, the EU is thinking about a possible hypothesis of an increase in resources in the light of the surge in the prices of raw materials, to avoid the risk of companies giving up on tenders. But before even evaluating any hypothesis, he would wait for the analysis work that the OECD and IMF would be doing.
Roof
While waiting for a difficult synthesis in Europe between conflicting interests also on the gas price ceiling, the Draghi government adds in the new decree other instruments for the emancipation from Russian supplies: the “urgent” construction of floating regasifiers beyond the 12 nautical miles from the coast, but also of fixed land installations. The presidents of the regions where the new regasifiers will be located will be appointed extraordinary commissioners for the authorization of the works. Simplifications are also envisaged to de-bureaucratize and shorten the start-up times for renewable, wind and photovoltaic energy plants. And we are moving towards a derogation of at least six months to maximize the use of coal-fired plants in Italy, without giving up the path of decarbonization, once the emergency has ceased. At the same time, the commitment to stop the emergency for families and businesses continues, a difficult mission in the face of inflation. In addition to the extension until June of the 30-cent reduction in excise duties on fuels and the extension of the tax credit for energy-intensive companies, a new extension of the social bonus for bills will be launched. The Isee ceiling to obtain the discount, raised in March from 8 thousand to 12 thousand euros, should go up to 14-15 thousand euros.
Mechanism
At the Mise a mechanism was studied to make the bonus really automatic at the same time as the presentation of the ISEE, to resolve critical issues that emerged in recent weeks. A fund of around 200 million euros is also on the way for companies with strong exchanges with the areas involved in the war (such as Russia, Ukraine and Belarus). On the other hand, thanks to a series of simplifications, those that will make investments over 50 million euros in strategic productions will have a “fast track”. Support for commuter workers for subscriptions to transport services is also being studied. it was initially thought of unpacking them in two different decrees, a hypothesis set aside for now also to avoid further clogging the calendar.
Additional Resources
“Not just families and businesses, the energy drain risks wiping out some Italian excellences. The government must guarantee at least 5 billion, but additional resources should be found. The League is asking President Draghi for incisive interventions, also to extend the discount on fuels “, declares the leader of the League, Matteo Salvini, recalling, for example, that the” mussel farmers in the Gulf of La Spezia are on their knees for expensive energy. With the same consumption, the bill went from € 4,863.96 (December 2020) to € 8,463.98 (January 2022). A bloodletting for the 86 members who are handed down from father to son a secular activity, with ancient methods, in the stretch of sea between the Cinque Terre park and the Magra park ».