In two years, Portugal already owed 400 million to the gas stations, evidencing the growing weight of fuel expenses on the national budget. Carlos Lobo, professor at the Faculty of Law of the University of Lisbon, lawyer specialist in tax law and former member of the Commission for the Reform of Green Taxation, responsible for creating the carbon tax, warns that fixing gas station prices would be "the biggest catastrophe" for the sector.
In 2001, an attempt was made to fix fuel prices and the experience went badly, demonstrating that this measure is not viable. Carlos Lobo also states that touching the VAT on fuels makes no sense because there is no available margin, making this option ineffective for controlling prices.
The professor explains that there are fiscal mechanisms available to the Government to manage the escalation of fuel prices, although none of them is a perfect solution. The variation of the ISP does not "work miracles" and presents significant limitations in its ability to influence market prices.
Regardless of the decision made, Carlos Lobo warns that "all this puts the correct accounts at risk", suggesting that any government intervention will have consequences for the country's fiscal balance.
