On the extra long Easter weekend and in the Malvinas, petrol will increase by at least 4.3% and a liter of super will cost $834 starting tomorrow In the city of Buenos Aires. The increase corresponds to the third phase of updating the taxes on liquid fuel (ICL) and carbon dioxide (IDC) ordered by the government last February.
The impending surge spawned the weekend lines at some service stations, where the drivers of the vehicles went to buy fuel. The scene has been repeated in recent months due to the sharp increase in petrol refueling costs, especially after the 55% devaluation in December and the “price liberalisation” implemented.
The super petrol had a price this Sunday of 800 dollars and with the new adjustment starting tomorrow accumulates an increase of 106% in less than four months since the hiring of new management on December 13, when its cost was $404. The increase confirmed by official and private sources would bring the price of premium petrol at $1,029 and diesel at $879.
The fuel tax was established by law in 1998 and during the government of Mauricio Macri its update was ordered in quarterly, adjusted to official inflation, although it was postponed in 2019. Since July 2021 it has remained frozen under the management of Alberto Fernández, until Javier Milei’s management updated it again last March.
Even if Milei had decided to make it happen a shock plan without tax increases, The government has decided to “regularize” the petrol situation to increase revenue and thus compensate for the blockade of the tax reform envisaged by the Omnibus law. With these changes, it is estimated that the The executive could collect 0.4% of the national GDP, approximately 760,000 million dollars.
With decree 107/2024, the Government has established a timetable to reverse the freezing of these taxes, with adjustments scheduled for 1 March, 1 April and 1 May 2024 inclusive. On the other hand, oil companies could add a 2% increase corresponding to the decline in the official dollar, although they are also carefully watching the fuel market.
Due to the crisis and the increase in prices, Gasoline sales fell 7.3% year over year in February at gas stations, according to the Surtidores website. The decline was particularly felt in premium products, which in the case of petrol was almost 23% and in diesel 8.25%. This is the sharpest decline since 2019, despite the vehicle fleet being much smaller at the time.
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Source: Clarin
