After the expiry of the programme Fuel Prices On September 1, a liter of diesel on Podhale costs 8,77 PLN, and a fewer kilometres further in Slovakia about 40 grosz less. Polish drivers are going across the border with canisters again. erstwhile filling 50 litres, the difference is PLN 20 and shows the cost of national taxation policy.
Drivers number all buck
At the station in the Slovak Żdiarze, a fewer kilometres from the border, cars with Polish plates arrived. The cashier quoted by Virtual Poland speaks of a marked increase in the number of drivers from Poland. any customers refuel cars and take fuel in canisters. The mechanics is simple: erstwhile the price difference becomes apparent, border residents vote by portfolio.
On Podhale a litre of diesel costs 8,77 PLN according to the source. On the Slovak side is about 40 cents cheaper. At 50 litres, the savings are PLN 20. For a individual travelling especially from a distance, the benefit may vanish in the cost of travel, but for a individual in the border lane the bill is obvious.
The program expired, the taxation came back
The return came after 1 September erstwhile the government's Fuel Prices program ended. From that day onwards, the VAT rate on fuel returned 23 %. Previously, the programme reduced VAT to 8 percent and introduced maximum retail prices for petrol and diesel.
Government spent nearly half a billion PLN on temporary cover. This means that public finances, or taxpayers, covered the difference for a short period of time. erstwhile the shield expired, the price again showed the taxation burden and the reality of the market. Politics built on temporary relief has not solved the problem. She moved it over time.
Turnover goes abroad
For years now, Slovaks came to Poland for cheaper fuel. Now the direction has turned. Polish stations in the border area lose on this, and part of turnover and taxes stay on the another side of the Tatras. For local entrepreneurs, this is not a media curiosity, but a regular competition with a country where the final price is lower.
The fuel price dispute has been going on for monthsBut the government's and the Presidential Palace's common accusations won't lower the bill on the distributor. The State should clearly show what part of the price of a litre is due to taxes and fees, how much intervention costs and what the plan is after the conclusion of ad hoc programmes.
Difference increases in home budget
Forty cents a liter doesn't look like a large amount until you number it all month. The household consuming 100 liters of diesel will save on the Slovak side 40 PLN per month, i.e. 480 PLN per year if the price difference persists. A tiny transport company will feel it even more. Not everyone can go to the border, which is why residents of Central Poland bear the full cost of the national price.
This arrangement creates inequality dependent on the place of residence. Border drivers can look for cheaper alternatives, others are sentenced to a national bill. The State should not correspond to another short promotion financed by the budget. A sustained burden adjustment and fair cost information are needed.
Sustainable rules are needed
Economic freedom does not mean that the government first charges fuel with tributes and later presents a temporary simplification as a gift to citizens. The driver pays for transport to work, bringing children, transportation to shops and service. costly diesel increases the costs of the full economy and the account of the car owner is the first visible result.
Poland needs predictable taxes, competition in the fuel marketplace and a cost-effective state that does not finance political campaigns from the taxpayer's pocket. The queue under the Slovak distributor is simply a simple bill issued to national politics. If it pays to drive fuel across the border, the problem is not in the resourcefulness of drivers.
Source: Virtual Poland, Ministry of Energy.
Source: WP News
