SANTA CRUZ DE TENERIFE, June 21 (EUROPA PRESS) –
The Government of the Canary Islands will extend the return of 99.9% of the special tax on fuel to professional carriers, farmers and ranchers, announced this Tuesday in the Parliament of the Canary Islands the Vice President and Minister of Finance, Budgets and European Affairs, Román Rodríguez.
The Executive thus gives continuity to a measure that it approved on March 25, with retroactive effect to March 1, and which consisted of extending the refund of the special tax from 68% to 99.9%, until July 31 .
Rodríguez explained that the economic circumstances that motivated that decision are not only maintained, but have worsened, with which it is necessary to continue “protecting” the sectors most exposed to price increases with specific and temporary tax measures.
The vice president recalled in a note sent by his department that the fuel is taxed at the 0 rate of the IGIC, while in the peninsular territory the VAT on this product reaches 21 percent.
“We are facing a problem of global scope, which does not mean that the Government of the Canary Islands does not have to adopt measures to maintain the purchasing power of those who are suffering the most from inflation,” said Rodríguez, who pointed out that the increase in the return was agreed with the transport employer.
The partial refund of the Special Tax on Fuels Derived from Petroleum is included in its own regulatory law, which dates from July 1986.
It specifies that farmers and carriers will be entitled to a partial refund of the tax levied on professional gasoline and diesel used by vehicles that are used for the development of agricultural, livestock and transportation activities (discretionary and regular passenger, of goods and taxi drivers) and whose data is duly registered in the Census of Farmers and Carriers.
The tax is currently 26.5 cents per liter in the case of gasoline and 22.2 cents in the case of diesel.
Of these amounts, the Government returns 68% since 1986 to carriers, farmers and ranchers, a return that is now practically full.
THERE WILL BE NO TAX ON KEROSENE
In another appearance, the vice president insisted that the Canary Islands will be exempt from any tax on fuel that the European Union may determine for air transport, since it was thus determined in the process of integrating the archipelago into the European Union.
“Our integration in Europe was different from that of the rest of the State and Directive 2008/118, which regulates special taxes, establishes in its article 5 that the Canary Islands are outside its scope of application,” said the vice president, who added that They are also exempt from the application of VAT.
Rodríguez specified that, in this specific case, it is not an adaptation of European policies on the islands as a result of their status as an outermost region, but rather because of their particular integration into the community club.
On the other hand, the vice president assured that the Canary Islands have taken an important step, although not definitive, so that flights between the islands and with the rest of the European Economic Area are not subject to trading in emission rights, thanks to the agreement adopted a few days ago by the European Parliament.
“The decision is now pending the opinion of the so-called European trilogue,” he said.
