A significant portion of the price of fuel is determined by the weight of excise duties, which are fixed rates for each litre of fuel in Italy and are among the highest in Europe: their amount is determined by individual governments' budgetary strategies, the ease of obtaining more revenue due to demand rigidity, or the desire to incentivize the ecological transition by taxing the most polluting fuels more heavily. In January 2026, the Netherlands had the highest petrol excise charges (€0.84 per litre), followed by France (€0.69/l) and Italy (€0.67/l). Since the beginning of the year, Italy has increased excise duties on diesel while decreasing those on gasoline, thereby standardizing the two excise duties. It is now the country with the highest diesel rates, alongside France (0.67 euros/l), with Ireland coming in third (0.62 euros/l). On March 19, the Italian government temporarily reduced them (initially until April 7, then extended until May 1) to compensate for price increases caused by the Middle East war, and they are now 0.47 euros per liter for both gasoline and diesel: with this value, Italy is now in the lower half of the European average, but it is still far from the countries with the lowest excise duty. This tax generated over €26 billion in revenue for the Italian state in 2025 and, despite ongoing debate about reducing them to structurally lower fuel prices, a permanent reduction is very complex, as they represent a stable and substantial part of public finances (about 4% of tax revenues).