Estonia has no plans to temporarily lower excise duty on diesel | News

Organizations from Estonia’s transport, logistics, and fuel sectors submitted a proposal to the government and parliament to temporarily reduce the diesel excise duty to the European Union minimum level, €330 per 1,000 liters.

The proposal highlighted that the diesel excise rate in Estonia is currently €428 per 1,000 liters.

Organizations said that cancelling the next tax hike is not sufficient, as neighboring countries are implementing or preparing additional measures to ease fuel price pressure. Latvia, Lithuania and Poland have all lowered costs in some capacity.

Keldo said he agrees that rising fuel prices negatively affect the economy, but an additional reduction in fuel excise is not under consideration.

“To mitigate the negative impact, it has been decided to cancel the previously planned fuel excise increase, despite the tight budget situation. We consider the stability and predictability of the tax system important, which is why an additional temporary reduction of the fuel excise is not currently under consideration. If the situation changes and fuel prices rise sharply in the future, various state intervention needs and options can be considered,” he wrote in a response to the business organizations.

Minister of Finance Jürgen Ligi (Reform) has previously said lowering the diesel excise is a foolish idea and would not be discussed by the government.

“This is like carrying water with a sieve. We do not bring such nonsense to the table that is not helpful but instead causes harm. The international need right now is to restrain ourselves, not to stimulate consumption, but to release reserves onto the market — and the government has already done that. The recommendation of scientists and international organizations is precisely to conserve fuel,” he said.

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