The government yesterday approved a draft of a bill on excise taxes. Despite general expectations and a proposal of the Ministry of Finance, the government decided not to increase the excise tax on gasoline, but did increase the excise tax on diesel. Although the draft is still to be approved in the Parliament, the news is positive for both consumers and retail fuel distributors (such as the largest domestic distributor, Benzina, Unipetrol’s subsidiary).
(Ladislav Kovář)