TIRANA, Sept 15 /ATA/ – Main opposition Democratic Party (DP) called on the government on Tuesday to temporarily cut fuel excise duties, saying record diesel prices were putting pressure on households and businesses.
Eno Bozdo, a DP lawmaker and deputy head of parliament’s Economy, Employment and Finance Committee, said diesel was selling at around 229 leks per litre, a level he described as unaffordable for both households and the productive sector.
The price made Albania the country with the most expensive diesel in the region, at around 30% above the regional average, Bozdo said in a statement to the media.
He also said Albanian diesel prices were above the European Union average and placed Albania among Europe’s five most expensive markets for diesel, alongside Monaco, Finland, Germany, the Netherlands and Denmark.
Comparing Albania with neighbouring countries, Bozdo said the main reason for the high fuel prices was the heavy tax burden on fuel.
“Albanians pay roughly twice as much in taxes as the region, without receiving what they deserve in return,” Bozdo said, adding that taxes accounted for around 53% of the final diesel price, including the fixed excise duty, road tax, carbon tax and 20% value-added tax applied to the total price.
Bozdo said that, unlike other countries in the region, Albania had failed to introduce measures to ease the impact of higher fuel prices.
The DP is urging the government to reduce the tax burden on fuel immediately, he said, reiterating the party’s proposal to abolish the road tax and temporarily cut the excise duty.
Bozdo said the combination of the two measures would bring the price of diesel in Albania closer to the regional average.
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