The Law and Justice (PiS) candidate for prime minister, Prof. Przemysław Czarnek, presented a draft bill today during a morning press conference that would temporarily reduce the VAT rate on fuel and lower the excise tax rate. “The point is that Poles should feel today that the state supports them in a time of crisis. The state cannot plunder its citizens – it must respond to the needs of citizens who do not feel safe in this state,” Czarnek said.
This morning, during a press conference at one of the petrol stations in the capital, Przemysław Czarnek addressed the problem of drastically rising fuel prices.
“It is not a pleasant sight when we look at the fuel price board. The crisis in the Middle East has caused oil prices and gasoline prices at petrol stations in Poland to sometimes reach 8 PLN per liter, and at some stations, as the media have shown, they have already exceeded 8 PLN,” he said.
“Tusk is plundering Poles. Do you remember the crisis from the time when PiS governed and the president of Orlen was Daniel Obajtek. At that time, the price of a barrel of oil on global markets reached 120 USD, and the dollar in Poland stood at 4.30 PLN. Today, a barrel on global markets costs more than 90 USD – 30 dollars less than then – and the dollar is also cheaper, at 3.73-3.80 PLN. Yet prices today are exactly the same as they were then,” he added.
Czarnek recalled that during the crisis caused by sharp increases in oil prices on global exchanges in 2022, “through a reasonable policy of the state acting for the citizen, not against the citizen – a state that does not plunder its citizens but helps them in times of crisis – Orlen was able to maintain fuel prices at the lowest level in Europe. This also influenced prices at other petrol stations, because it affected how other fuel sellers in Poland approached the issue.”
He assessed that today the state is not intervening in the matter of rapidly rising fuel prices.
“This is a tragedy for Polish farmers and Polish transport companies, who are already being burdened by increases in road charges. It is a tragedy for thousands and millions of Polish families and households. It is a tragedy for ordinary drivers who come to refuel and pay a price that is truly very high,” said the Law and Justice (PiS) candidate for prime minister.
The bill would reduce fuel taxes
In response to the situation, he proposed a solution.
“I am submitting a draft bill with the signatures of PiS MPs, and I encourage other MPs to sign it as well. It temporarily reduces the VAT rate from 23 percent to 8 percent and lowers the excise duty on fuel by around 9-10 percent. The point is that Poles should feel today that the state supports them during a crisis. The state cannot plunder its citizens – it must respond to citizens who do not feel safe in this state, because they see what is happening on global markets and see a state that is powerless, while they were accustomed to a different state – one that maintained fuel prices at the lowest level in Europe. And today Daniel Obajtek is being tried and accused for that,” said Przemysław Czarnek.
He also recalled that in 2022 “coal prices were heading toward 3,000 PLN per ton, and Poles felt threatened ahead of winter.”
“The state managed by the PiS government immediately intervened to bring coal prices down and secure them at the lowest possible level. The state must ensure that Poles have access to fuel at low prices, which is why we are proposing a temporary reduction in VAT and excise duty. The state cannot plunder Poles. Donald Tusk is plundering Poles, while we are responding to the problems faced by Polish citizens,” he added.
“The fuel sold today was bought at 60 dollars per barrel”
Asked about rising fuel prices on global exchanges, the Law and Justice (PiS) candidate for prime minister said:
“The fuel being sold here was not purchased at 90 USD per barrel – it was bought when a barrel cost around 60 USD,” Czarnek assessed.
He pointed out that considering the situation in 2022, when fuel on global markets cost 120 USD per barrel and at petrol stations around 8 PLN per liter, today fuel – also taking into account the weaker dollar exchange rate against the Polish zloty – should be twice as cheap.
“Orlen is selling it at this price – around 7.50 PLN per liter at stations. Orlen should stimulate fuel prices in favor of Poles, not against them,” added Przemysław Czarnek.