“We've been working on this for a while. In order to ensure that all proposals prepared by individual ministries are responsible proposals – Donald Tusk began the meeting, and then, in a sense, explain why the preparation of the solutions discussed had to take so long. The reasons are simple.
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— We must ensure that fuel prices are as low as possible from the point of view of each customer, said the Prime Minister, and then quickly added.
– At the same time, we had to make sure so that on this occasion, no one makes money from the pockets of Poles. As you know, this is always a problem. Sometimes public levies are lowered, and in the end the customer pays the same or more, and someone makes money from it. We also worked to avoid this threat, said the Prime Minister.
— We try to act as responsibly as possible. So that there is no threat to the fuel supply. Here Poland is secured and fortunately, I can say this with full responsibility, there is no risk of running out of fuel – said Tusk.
— Of course, we are talking about what is today. Tomorrow, events on the global stage will probably mean that risks will obviously exist. They are unrelated and largely independent of what national governments have at their disposal. Nevertheless, thanks to our work, we have achieved what is possible and in the maximum version in our Polish reality – said the Prime Minister, and then presented in detail what the government's plan is.
— We decided to radically reduce VAT and excise duty on fueland also to introduce something that must always be done with great caution, but here we felt it was a necessary decision. This concerns the possibility of introducing a maximum price, i.e. a regulated price, at gas stations. So that all our decisions are positively felt by the final recipient – Tusk announced.
Fuel price lower. Minister of Finance on the changes
After a short speech by Prime Minister Donald Tusk, Minister of Finance Andrzej Domański spoke.
— In recent weeks, due to the situation in the Middle East, oil prices increased by 45 percent, diesel prices by over 40 percent and gasoline prices by 25 percent. This is, of course, the situation we see at stations – began Donański.
— That's why we take tax-related actions to make prices at gas stations significantly lower. Firstly, we are reducing VAT on fuels, both for petrol and diesel, from 23 to 8%. Secondly, we are reducing excise duty to the minimum allowable levels. In the case of petrol, we reduce it by 29 cents, and in the case of diesel fuel, by 28 cents. These actions should result in lower gasoline prices, compared to the situation if such actions had not been taken, by approximately PLN 1.2 per liter. – he explained.
– What's important. These actions are temporary. We will flexibly adjust excise duty rates and VAT rates to the rapidly changing market situation.. Today, for example, we see wholesale prices of diesel oil dropping by 30 cents, while on the oil market we see increases. The situation is very dynamic and that is why we want to remain flexible in shaping both excise duty and VAT on fuels, he said.
— These solutions are, of course, solutions that involve costs. In the case of the VAT reduction, we are talking about a monthly cost of PLN 900 billion. For excise duty, this cost amounts to approximately PLN 700 million per month – explained the Minister of Finance.
— From the budget's point of view, these are serious expenses and that is why we are working to introduce a special tax on excess profits. Those companies and entities that have excessive profits due to the market situation, high oil prices and high margins will pay higher taxes. – Domański announced.
