Across Europe, a war-driven oil shock has illuminated a quieter, structural reality: nearly half of what drivers pay at the pump has always belonged to the state. With EU petrol averaging €2.063 per litre in mid-September 2026 — a record since tracking began — the Netherlands, Denmark, and Finland lead a bloc where taxes exceed €1 per litre in seven nations. Governments designed these burdens as instruments of climate policy and energy security, yet the same crisis that exposed their weight is now testing their political durability.
Netherlands leads EU with highest petrol taxes at €1.27 per litre
Nearly half of what drivers paid went straight to governments
Mark
So nearly half the price is taxes? That seems almost designed to hide the real cost from drivers.
Mimi
It's not hidden exactly—the taxes are itemized on receipts—but you're right that the structure obscures it. Excise duty is fixed per litre, so when crude oil prices spike, the tax percentage of the total actually shrinks. But VAT is calculated on top of everything, including the excise duty itself.
Luke
That's important to flag: the tax *percentage* of the pump price varies by country. The Netherlands is 52%, Greece is 52.5%, but Germany is only about half. So the headline "nearly half" is an average, not universal.
Mark
Why does the Netherlands tax so much more than, say, France?
Mimi
Different policy choices. The Dutch excise duty is simply higher—€844.69 per 1,000 litres versus France's €690. There's no single reason; it's accumulated over decades of budget decisions.
Luke
And we should note: the source doesn't explain *why* the Netherlands chose that rate. We know the number, but not the reasoning behind it.
Mark
What about the carbon taxes? Germany and Finland both have them.
Mimi
Germany's carbon price adds about €0.148 per litre because CO2 certificates are auctioned within a €55 to €65 per tonne corridor. Finland's CO2 tax is part of its fuel duty structure. They're trying to price the climate cost of burning fuel.
Luke
But the source doesn't tell us whether these carbon prices are actually changing driver behaviour or just raising revenue. That's a separate question.
Mark
Germany cut its energy tax temporarily in May and June. Does that mean governments can just turn these taxes off when they want?
Mimi
They can, but it's politically costly. Germany's cut was a direct response to the war and the price spike. Once the immediate crisis eased, the full rate came back. It signals that these taxes are somewhat flexible, but not infinitely so.
Luke
The source shows that Italy cut diesel multiple times since late July but never cut petrol. That's a choice worth asking about—why protect diesel drivers but not petrol drivers? The reporting doesn't answer that.
El Pulso
- A war disrupting the Strait of Hormuz sent Brent crude from $72 to over $100 per barrel, pushing EU petrol to its highest recorded price and triggering public fury at the pump.
- Refinery margins piled on further — adding €0.17 per litre to petrol and €0.41 to diesel in a single week — compressing the space between crude costs and consumer pain.
- The tax architecture itself compounds the crisis: VAT is applied after excise duties, meaning drivers effectively pay a tax on a tax, with rates ranging from 19% in Germany to 27% in Hungary.
- The Netherlands leads all EU nations with €1.27 per litre in taxes — 52% of the pump price — while Denmark's drivers face the continent's most expensive petrol overall at €2.564 per litre.
- Governments are bending under pressure: Germany temporarily slashed its energy tax, Estonia postponed a planned increase, Italy repeatedly cut diesel duties, and Portugal triggered an automatic VAT rebate mechanism.
- The unresolved tension is whether these emergency reliefs signal a permanent retreat from fuel taxation or merely a pause before the full burden reasserts itself.
Across Europe, a war-driven oil shock has illuminated a quieter, structural reality: nearly half of what drivers pay at the pump has always belonged to the state. With EU petrol averaging €2.063 per litre in mid-September 2026 — a record since tracking began — the Netherlands, Denmark, and Finland lead a bloc where taxes exceed €1 per litre in seven nations. Governments designed these burdens as instruments of climate policy and energy security, yet the same crisis that exposed their weight is now testing their political durability.
When European drivers pulled up to the pump in mid-September 2026, they met a record no one celebrated. The EU's weighted average price for Euro-super 95 petrol reached €2.063 per litre on September 14th — the highest since the European Commission began tracking in 2005. The trigger was a war that erupted in late February, disrupting energy flows through the Strait of Hormuz and sending Brent crude surging from around $72 to above $100 per barrel. Refinery margins added further pressure, contributing €0.17 per litre to petrol costs in the third week of September alone.
Yet the war and refinery economics tell only part of the story. Across the EU, taxes averaged €0.976 per litre — 47.3% of the total price. In seven member states, the tax burden exceeded €1 per litre. The mechanism behind these figures is layered: excise duties are fixed charges per litre, sometimes supplemented by carbon levies or oil stockpile fees. Then VAT is applied on top of the already-taxed price, creating a tax upon a tax. VAT rates across the bloc range from 19% in Germany to 27% in Hungary, amplifying the final bill in ways that vary sharply by country.
The Netherlands carried the heaviest tax burden in the EU at €1.270 per litre — 52% of a €2.434 pump price — driven by the bloc's highest excise duty and a 21% VAT rate. Denmark ranked second at €1.230 per litre despite having Europe's most expensive petrol overall at €2.564, its bill shaped by energy, CO2, and nitrogen oxide levies compounded by a 25% VAT. Finland placed third at €1.193, distinguished by the EU's second-highest VAT rate of 25.5%. Germany's €1.179 per litre included a carbon pricing component and a 19% VAT, though Berlin had temporarily cut its energy tax between May and June before restoring the full rate. Greece, Italy, France, Portugal, Estonia, and Latvia rounded out the top ten, each with excise duties above €0.40 per litre and VAT contributions that pushed totals toward or past the €1 mark.
The data reveals fuel taxation as a dual instrument — generating revenue while embedding climate and energy security goals into the price of driving. But the same crisis that made those goals visible also made them politically costly. Germany's temporary cut, Italy's repeated diesel reductions, Estonia's postponed increase, and Portugal's automatic VAT rebate all reflect governments absorbing public anger. Whether these concessions mark a lasting shift in tax policy or a temporary retreat until the crisis fades remains the open question hanging over every European forecourt.
When European drivers pulled up to the pump in mid-September, they encountered a milestone that no one celebrated. The weighted average price for Euro-super 95 petrol across the EU had climbed to €2.063 per litre on September 14th—the highest figure recorded since the European Commission began tracking prices in 2005. The war with Iran, which erupted at the end of February and disrupted energy flows through the Strait of Hormuz, set the crisis in motion. Brent crude had traded around $72 per barrel before the conflict; by the following Monday it was trading above $100 for next-month delivery. Refineries compounded the pressure. In the third week of September alone, refining margins—the gap between what refiners pay for crude and what they earn selling finished fuel—added €0.17 to each litre of petrol in the euro area and €0.41 to each litre of diesel.
Yet the war and refinery economics tell only part of the story. Nearly half of what drivers paid at the pump went directly to governments as taxes. Across the EU, taxes averaged €0.976 per litre, accounting for 47.3% of the total price. In seven member states, the tax burden exceeded €1 per litre. Understanding how this happened requires looking at the machinery of fuel taxation itself.
Petrol faces taxation in two distinct stages. First comes excise duty—a fixed charge per litre that does not automatically rise when crude oil prices climb. Some countries layer on additional levies, such as charges to fund emergency oil stockpiles or carbon pricing mechanisms. Then comes value added tax, applied to the fuel's price after duties and levies have been added. This creates a peculiar effect: drivers pay VAT on the excise duty itself, a tax layered atop a tax. The composition varies sharply across the bloc. Some nations rely heavily on fixed excise duties; others use VAT rates that range from 19% in Germany to 27% in Hungary to amplify the final bill.
The Netherlands emerged as the heaviest taxer in the EU. Dutch drivers paid €1.270 per litre in combined taxes during the week of September 14th—52% of the €2.434 pump price. The Dutch excise duty on petrol stood at €844.69 per 1,000 litres in 2026, the highest in the bloc. A levy funding the national oil stockpile added 0.8 cents per litre. VAT at 21% contributed €0.422. Denmark ranked second with €1.230 per litre in taxes, despite having the most expensive petrol in the entire EU at €2.564 per litre. The Danish tax bill consisted of energy tax, CO2 tax, and a nitrogen oxides levy totalling €0.717 before VAT, then a 25% VAT rate applied to a high pre-tax price of €1.334, adding €0.513 per litre—the largest VAT contribution in the EU.
Finland placed third at €1.193 per litre in taxes. Its fuel duty of €0.722 per litre combined energy tax, CO2 tax, and a security-of-supply fee. What distinguished Finland was its VAT rate of 25.5%, the second-highest in the EU after Hungary, which added €0.471 per litre. Germany collected €1.179 per litre through its energy tax of 65.45 cents, a carbon price of roughly €0.148 per litre (from CO2 certificates auctioned within a €55 to €65 per tonne corridor), and 19% VAT. Berlin had temporarily cut its energy tax by 14.04 cents from May 1st to June 30th in response to the war, but the full rate returned. Greece charged €1.133 per litre, with an excise duty of €0.70 per litre, small levies totalling about 1.5 cents, and 24% VAT adding €0.418.
Italy collected €1.049 per litre through an excise duty of €0.673 per litre and 22% VAT. The Italian government had equalized petrol and diesel excise rates in January, cutting petrol by 4.05 cents and raising diesel by the same amount, then cut diesel several times since late July to cushion the price surge—but petrol received no relief. France charged €1.052 per litre, with an excise duty of €0.690 per litre unchanged since March 1st and 20% VAT. Portugal collected €0.978 per litre through its ISP fuel tax of €0.432 per litre, a carbon levy of €0.159 per litre, and 23% VAT, though a temporary discount applied when prices rose more than 10 cents above early-March levels, returning extra VAT to drivers. Estonia charged €0.963 per litre after raising excise duty to €0.593 per litre in May 2025, then postponing a further increase planned for May 2026 when prices surged. Latvia rounded out the top ten at €0.960 per litre, having raised its excise duty in January from €532 to €555 per 1,000 litres, with an additional charge for emergency oil stocks and 21% VAT.
These figures reveal how governments use fuel taxation not simply for revenue but as a policy instrument. Carbon levies embed climate goals into the price of driving. Oil stockpile charges ensure energy security. Yet the data also shows political pressure at work. Germany's temporary cut in May and June, Italy's repeated diesel reductions, and Estonia's postponed increase all reflect governments responding to public anger over fuel costs. The question now is whether these temporary measures will become permanent, or whether the tax burden will return to its full weight once the immediate crisis passes.
Citas Notables
Drivers pay VAT on excise duty: a tax on tax— European Commission analysis
Germany temporarily cut energy tax by 14.04 cents from May 1 to June 30 due to the war, but the full rate returned— German government policy
Quieres la nota completa?
Lee el original en Euronews.com ↗
War & Conflict