This is a controversy that began in early August with the departure of Loïc Hervé, a centrist senator from Haute-Savoie during the vote on the law that modifies the 2022 budget to finance measures in favor of purchasing power.
Widely reported on social media, her statements had earned her honors from several national media outlets. In France as in Switzerland. And, a few days ago, it was even a member of the majority, Olga Givernet, who delivered a ladle.
A cost of 7,500 million euros for the State
But these two parliamentarians, like the Hauts-Savoyards and the surprised Bressans, are wrong. Not in the fact that reimbursement is expensive for the state. It is undeniable. In total, it should represent 7,500 million euros for the whole of 2022, according to the latest estimates by Bercy.
Just as it is undeniable that foreign motorists cross the border to refuel because fuel is cheaper in France. And with the 30-cent discount, it’s no longer just the Swiss who have every interest in crossing the border to fill up their tank. This is also the case for Germans, Belgians who drive diesel and, to a lesser extent, Italians.
Discount discounted, the State receives €0.70 tax per liter
But much better. To understand it you have to do addition and subtraction. Without this bonus, we would pay, at the moment, a liter of gasoline 1.86 euros, on average, and diesel would cost those who drive diesel at 2.13 euros. At this price, our neighbors would not travel kilometers to refuel in France.
But that same liter of gasoline that we should pay 1.86 euros generates 69 cents of TICPE and 31 cents of tax, that is, 1 euro in total. So if we subtract 30 cents of bonus from this euro, the Treasury finally recovers 70 cents per liter. In other words, all these foreign motorists who come to France to refuel cost the taxpayers no money as they pay 70 cents of tax per litre. Which still represents 25 to 40 euros per full tank.
The bonus even allows the tax authorities to recover taxes that they would not have collected without
We must carry the reasoning even further. If so many foreign motorists, for two months, will be tempted to come to refuel in France, it is thanks to the state bonus but also to the additional effort made by TotalEnergies. We can say, therefore, that the taxes paid by these motorists who take advantage of the unexpected effect, is money that would not have fallen into the hands of the State without these exceptional bonuses.
A stroke of luck whose scope will be difficult to measure, since service station operators do not record the number plates of their customers. But this is certainly counted in the tens of millions of euros and perhaps even in the hundreds of millions of euros.
Source: BFM TV
