Fuel discount ends on 31 August

The fuel discount of 7.5 cents per litre ends at the end of August. Prices at the pump are therefore likely to rise again from 1 September onwards. The political parties are now debating whether this measure should be abandoned or whether other solutions should be found to alleviate the price increase in general.

The dividing line between coalition and opposition parties is no longer entirely clear. While the Alternative Democratic Reform Party (ADR) and the Christian Social People's Party (CSV) want to extend the reduction, the Pirate Party, the Democratic Party (DP), the Luxembourg Socialist Workers' Party (LSAP) and the Green Party (déi Gréng) want alternatives. CSV MP Marc Spautz said on Thursday that he had the impression that the government has "fallen asleep on this issue," as it has proposed no further measures from September. Spautz admitted that he was not a "big fan" of the reduction but said it was "better than nothing". For its part, the ADR is convinced that the extension is a good idea. MP Jeff Engelen reacted by saying that "Luxembourg should not be holier than the Pope" and that other countries also practice 'fuel tourism'. The discount should be extended until "at least the end of the year" as the situation does not seem to be improving, Engelen stated.

The Pirate Party, on the other hand, is not at all of the same opinion, as MP Marc Goergen explained: "75% of the 7.5 cents go abroad, even though it is Luxembourgish tax." Instead of a fuel discount, the Pirate Party is in favour of an "environment credit" in the form of energy vouchers of €100 to €150 that households would receive every month to use according to their respective needs.

The same is true for the Left Party (Déi Lénk), who are pleased that the minister has finally decided to follow one of their ideas, as Minister for Mobility François Bausch proposed the introduction of energy vouchers on Wednesday. For the Left Party, these vouchers should be paid out alongside a wage indexation and not as a replacement of it.

The LSAP is of the same opinion after having already proposed the idea of "energy vouchers" six months ago. At the time, the sum of €500 euros was put forward. While not enough, it would be "a good start," according to MP Carlo Weber.

DP MP Max Hahn referred to the social measures already adopted by the government, such as the increase in the cost of living allowance and the introduction of "a kind of energy voucher". In addition to the tax credit for low- and medium-income workers, all of these measures have led to some relief for the population, Hahn argues.

In addition, the CSV also proposes an adjustment of the tax table, "especially for the middle class," as well as the maintenance of the next wage indexations. The Pirate Party want to reduce VAT from 17% to 15% and to zero for food. The adr wants to focus solely on energy with a 3% VAT.

The majority parties stated that they intend to wait for the conclusions of the discussions with the social partners in view of the next tripartite meeting.