Taking the color out of corruption
The current tax rate on fuel may have been easy on households. However, at the same time it seems to have encouraged a great deal of tax dodging and corruption. Entire businesses have lived off the illegal practice of decoloring oil and some people were thus able to make fortunes at the expense of the common good. All wise-headed people therefore welcome the government’s decision to clamp down on this unlawful practice that has stolen an annual 1.5 billion euros from public coffers. In addition, the government plans to offer tax returns to those who are entitled to them. However the tax returns should come with a limit. The government should not end up subsidizing consumption of a polluting fuel. The above limit should not affect people with small and medium-sized incomes. Rather it must target big oil consumers. In future, the government could set the limit according to income criteria for the sake of greater social justice.