The average U. But Americans cough up only about half of the amount drivers pay per gallon in Europe, where steep fuel taxes fund public transit systems, among other projects. On the other extreme, oil-rich countries, such as Saudi Arabia, Iran and Venezuela, keep fuel dirt-cheap with generous subsidies that cost their governments billions. Keep in mind that, with our suburbs, strip malls and gas guzzlers, Americans feel the pain at the pump more acutely than others.
Pricing methods vary among provinces, with some choosing to regulate and others opting out. European countries are well-known for their sky-high gas prices. Istanbul consistently ranks as one of the most expensive cities in which to buy gas. The price of gasoline is decided by royal decree, selling at a subsidized rate.
Although Iranians enjoy a gas subsidy, the government recently reduced its assistance, causing prices to soar. Drivers used to purchase a rationed 60 liters about 16 gallons of gas at about 10 cents per liter, with taxi drivers allowed more. The price has since quadrupled for the same fixed amount, according to Armin Wagner, an analyst at the German Agency for International Cooperation, a German-based group that studies global development.
In June , the Indian government decided to deregulate gasoline prices, doing away with the subsidies that had long kept the cost low. Energy Information Administration. The European Union has a mandatory excise tax, but Croatia likes getting the shiny star sticker and decided to go over and above the minimum.
This has meant that the country has a higher excise tax than other EU member countries. Croatia also has one of the highest VAT for fuel in all of Europe. Of course, there are several other European countries with higher prices, but none of them have as unaffordable a fuel market as Croatia. Bottom line: New Zealand is as expensive as it is beautiful. The country also exports most of its nationally produced oil and buys from the Middle East to meet its energy demands.
The revenue gained from petrol taxes is put into the National Land Transport Fund and used for public transit and road upkeep. About 98 cents a liter is the tax. This is steep, but the well-maintained roads in the country are proof that the money is put to good use.
Bottom line: When the Soviet Union fell, Slovakia was one of the countries to feel it the hardest in terms of fuel prices. This was because the country was highly dependent on Russia for energy. Residents of the country routinely cross the border to cheaper Poland, Hungary and Czech Republic to fill up their tanks. This is a cause of frustration for the Slovakian government, which laments the amount of taxes it loses to this practice.
Like Latvia, Estonia has historically depended on Russia for much of its energy supply. This dependence has left it vulnerable to market fluctuations and political conflicts.
For this reason, Estonia joins Lithuania in wanting to push for a more self-reliant energy system. It also believes that cutting links from Russia and joining the European energy grid will help it control the steep prices it pays for oil. Bottom line: Singapore may be tiny, but it has leveraged its location and advanced infrastructure to become the biggest oil trading country in Southeast Asia.
The city state has oil refineries but it is still a net importer country, meaning that it imports more oil than it exports. This makes sense given that the country has a large population that is fairly well-off and consumes a relatively high amount of energy. Recently, Switzerland has increased its petrol taxes in order to reach its Paris Agreement carbon emission targets.
Still, it still has lower tax rates than neighboring countries like Germany and France. Bottom line: Belgians are much more petroleum hungry than other Europeans. They tend to drive to work more often, use more heating and consume more energy overall than most other Western European countries. This, coupled with inflation that also surpasses that of the area and importing most of its oil, has often meant relatively high prices.
Interestingly, Belgium has relatively low oil taxes, but its prices still beat out countries like Switzerland. Some argue that low taxes have made the nation more vulnerable to volatility, which can lead to higher prices depending on the market. Bottom line: Again, islands almost always lose out when it comes to fuel prices because they tend to import rather than produce. This is the case with Ireland, where you can often hear people complaining about how expensive it is to fill up their tanks.
Bottom line: There is contention as to why gasoline is so expensive in Barbados. The price is also higher than in other island nations next to Barbados, such as Saint Lucia. Bottom line: Like most other European countries on this list, the United Kingdom has high taxes that drive up its fuel prices. But what sets it apart is that the VAT it charges is not on the price of petrol, as in most other countries, but on the fuel tax that the government has implemented.
This means that drivers in the U. Bottom line: Germany has been aggressively and decidedly pursuing lower emissions for years. The state has expressed the desire to continue increasing these taxes gradually over the next few years, in the hope that most of its population will transition to electric cars and stop using vehicles unless necessary. Angered by what they perceived was a classist tax, the French working classes led massive country-wide protests against rising fuel costs.
They argued that the tax unfairly targeted people living in rural areas where public transport is not widely available or where tractors and trucks are often needed. One of the solutions proposed by the protesters was to increase wealth taxes instead rather than place the burden of fuel taxes on the lower classes. The best online brokerages for beginners.
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