The cost of petrol and diesel will rise are set to rise after tomorrow's Budget due to a €7.50 increase in the carbon tax to €33.50 per tonne. This will add €1.28 to an average 60l tank of petrol and €1.47 to a tank of diesel. The relief was introduced in 2015 after a commitment by the Fine Gael led Government to “exempt farm diesel from further increases in the carbon tax”. The measure provides that a farmer may take an income tax or corporation tax deduction for farm diesel (including any carbon tax charged in respect of the diesel) and then a further deduction for farm diesel which is equal to the difference between the carbon tax charged and the carbon tax that would have been charged had it been calculated at the rate of €41.30 per 1,000 litres of farm diesel (the 2012 baseline). "As there is no viable alternative to using agri-diesel and other agri-fuels, the application of the carbon tax cannot incentivise behavioural change, therefore they should be exempted from the Carbon Tax," the IFA said in its pre-budget submission.

Source: Irish Independent October 12, 2020 05:03 UTC