Dialogue Fiji is calling on the Government to urgently review and reduce fiscal duties on fuel following the unprecedented increase in fuel prices that is now placing enormous pressure on households, businesses, farmers, transport operators and the wider economy.
They say the Government has repeatedly emphasised that fuel prices are largely beyond its control, however, there is one aspect of fuel pricing that remains entirely within Government’s control which is taxation.
Dialogue Fiji’s analysis shows that as fuel prices have increased, so has the amount of tax collected by Government on every litre of fuel sold in Fiji.
They say ordinary Fijians are paying more every time they fill up their vehicles, buy groceries, or pay for goods and services.
Dialogue Fiji Executive Director, Nilesh Lal says at the same time, the Government is collecting significantly more tax revenue from every litre of fuel sold than it was before the crisis began.
Lal says if citizens are expected to share the burden of this crisis, Government should also be prepared to share part of the burden.
He say that Government revenue per litre has increased by approximately 22 percent on petrol and 61 percent on diesel.
This means that while households are worse off, Government is receiving considerably more revenue from fuel tax than it was before the crisis.
Their analysis suggests that Government is now collecting approximately $3.44 million or 47 percent more in fuel-related tax revenue than it was before the current fuel crisis.
The Executive Director says this is not a situation where Government is simply standing on the sidelines while citizens suffer the effects of international events.
He says fuel inflation does not remain at the fuel pump, it spreads throughout the economy and drives the broader cost-of-living crisis.
Dialogue Fiji also feels for Fiji's taxi industry, which has not received a fare increase since 2011 despite facing more than a decade of rising operating costs while bus operators have received several fare adjustments and now benefit from government fuel subsidy.
Meanwhile, Minister for Finance, Esrom Immanuel earlier highlighted that they are not considering reducing the fuel tax levy.
Immanuel said that a complete removal of fuel duty across the board would result in a revenue loss of more than $150 million and would materially weaken the Government’s capacity to continue delivering essential services and supporting vulnerable communities.
