Israel cuts gasoline price by 50 agorot — Jerusalem Post
In Israel, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich signed an order for a temporary reduction of the gasoline price by 50 agorot per liter. From midnight, a liter of self-service A-95 gasoline will cost 7.75 new Israeli shekels instead of 8.25 shekels, according to the Jerusalem Post, which cites Walla.
Temporary excise tax cut
The state will cover the difference by temporarily waiving part of the excise tax it collects from drivers. After announcing the new price, Smotrich instructed Finance Ministry officials to find a mechanism that would make it possible to reduce drivers’ costs by 50 agorot per liter.
Before this, gasoline prices in Israel had risen to a level matching the record of September 2012. The publication links the increase to rising global gasoline prices and refining margins, the dollar-to-shekel exchange rate, the indexing of the excise tax to the consumer price index, as well as an update of the marketing margin and the full-service surcharge.
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Order effective until the end of October
The order will remain in effect until October 31, 2026 — four days after elections scheduled in Israel for October 27. The timing of the decision has raised concerns that the move could be viewed as pre-election economic policy.
The legal adviser to the Finance Ministry concluded that a price reduction during this period is possible, including in light of a precedent from the time of Avigdor Lieberman, when the excise tax was reduced close to elections. The decision was also approved by Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara. The Finance Ministry says that cheaper fuel should reduce pressure on transportation, distribution, and delivery costs, which may affect the prices of goods and services.
